Refuge
by dances.with.sunflowers
Summary: Missing ninjas. Missing memories. And war. Sasu/Saku. complete!
1. Sand

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&consider the [standard disclaimer] officially APPLIED!

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Pale, dim light from the moon barely penetrated the black veil covering the six figures within. Flickers of moonlight were sparse, casting a sinister glow on the hidden face's black hood. The four walls encased the closed-in room with only a single window in one top corner, filtering out the weak rays of light from hitting the polished wood floors. The soft footfalls echoed loudly in contrast to the stillness. A piercing shaft hit a glossy surface on the face of the visitor, momentarily lighting up a portion of his covered face before disappearing from view once again.

A small part in his lips and his voice spoke through the darkness, its sound stabbing the silence through like a knife. His head cocked to the side in knowing arrogance, his tone teasing, manipulating, controlling. The shine of the film on his eyes glinted maliciously, taunting the watchers with the knowledge of their unknown acquaintance's identity.

"Do we have a deal, then?" His voice, like his demeanor, was a duplicate of the whistle of the wind, deceivingly soft as it whirred into their raised ears.

His words were expected, but the daze of their minds hindered them from answering like they should. Two or three felt their hearts rise to their throats, knowing the danger and risk they were voluntarily placing themselves in. One hardened his face in determination and uncaring selfishness. His head rose in confidence and his voice held steady and firm.

"Yes, you have our full cooperation. We will give you the girl."

There was a shuffling of feet. A few turned and looked at each other with underlying dread and anxiety showing on their faces as waves of light passed over the skin of their hesitant countenances. The cloaked figure lowered his head once more, disregarding the dwindling hum of motion, and his voice turned to ice, splintering and holding an untold threat.

"A word of caution- if you speak to anyone of this…arrangement, coming back would be well worth my time to kill every one of you, should you break your end of the deal." He stood still and gauged their reactions, his head still lowered so the hood hung low, creating shadows dripping down from the edge of the dark fabric.

The speaker's blood ran cold; he remained silent, refusing to be broken down by unfounded threats. He knew the conditions of both parties and as long as they had something the other needed, he knew any attempt at installing fear wouldn't work. They still needed them and right now, he was the one that was safe. But apparently one of the others was shook up and after mustering up the resolve, let out a shaky answer: "But you will hold up yours?"

His pointless question was in vain; he didn't receive an answer. The cloaked figure had spun around silently, the shadows of his cloak pooling over the door as he jumped into the woods, as black as night itself.

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R. E. F. U. G. E.

chapter  
one.

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September 21

Location- Sand

In the sunny streets of the busting village of the Sand Country, a particular pinkette marched her way through the crowd, headed straight towards the Kazekage Tower. The chatter of the villagers filled her finely tuned ears, sorting themselves within the confines of her memory as she nimbly sifted through the packed crowd, maneuvering expertly around stalls and stands of the local parade.

Salesmen shouted out at every corner and the village hadn't ever looked so alive. Children scampered throughout the streets and alleyways, searching for every carnival attraction muddled into the vast expanse of the fair. Sand was loosed up everywhere, caught in between buildings, tents, and structures from the happenings of the past two days.

Gliding past the plum cloth of the fortune teller's tent, Sakura gently tugged her straw hat lower across her forehead, shielding herself from the debris thrown up as a group of children darted between the fair goers. Said eighteen year old girl finally found herself in front of the doors to the Kazekage's Office after "breaching" the large wall the crowd had made. She knocked twice prior to hearing a familiar voice on the other side of the doors, saying, "You may come in, Sakura."

She held in the snicker that nearly burst out at such an official tone and gingerly laid her hand down on the door handle before giving a firm push. Her personal entertainment running low, she passed through the doorway and bowed grandly upon entering. "The lowly servant imploringly requests the attention of her mighty king."

There was only a very short pause as she held her position, hands folded behind her and her head down to cover the smile mischievously growing on her sun-tanned face, before his stately voice protruded again.

"I prefer you _without _the mock respect, Sakura."

A stifled giggle erupted from the girl in front of him as she looked up with eyes full of mirth. She stood up straight and leaned back with one foot behind the other, laying her hands out beseechingly with a grin remaining.

"Oh, I couldn't help it; you sounded so formal and _stately_, I couldn't help myself," she ended, sounding fully satisfied with her excuse and completely confident he'd accept it.

The white-robed, red haired Kazekage set his pale green eyes on her. "I've been Kazekage for years. You should be used to it by now, and _ANBU captains_ should have unlimited reserves of self-restraint, _Sakura_," he professionally noted, meaningfully stressing his statement to tease her.

She sharply huffed and waved his comment off with her hand; with a drawl in her voice, she retorted, "I'll have you know I have untold quantities of self-restraint, thank you. And I know, but maybe if you had spent your childhood saying that becoming Kazekage was your dream, I might have easily seen you as one."

"And since when has Naruto been my life's role model?" his voice was light and playful as he leaned forward on his dark, cherry wood desk, cleared off with neatly organized piles of approved and junk folders already done for the day.(Wow, wonder if Tsunade's seen this, Sakura thought.)

He caught her grin before laying his hands on the desktop and pushing himself up. Turning around to look out the windows of his office, his sea green eyes scanned the lively village below, the image reflecting off the glassiness of his eyes. "Regardless, you have come to give your mission report before heading back to Konoha?"

She studied his back and easily spotted the tenseness of his muscles and the very miniscule change in his breathing pattern. What's got him preoccupied? But she didn't voice her thought and instead assumed her more serious tone, complying with his question. "Yes, my month-long medical arts teaching assignment has been completed. Many of the students show a lot of promise as medical ninjas." She paused a moment and laughed before adding thoughtfully, "Well, except these past few days with all the fair and everything, of course. But I think at least fifteen will be able to pass the medical ninja exam if they keep up their studies."

He turned around and crossed his arms. "No doubt, do to your expertise."

Sakura angled her head to look him in the eye and found herself unused to the straightforward, laid-back compliment. Pensively, she remarked, "You flatter my medical skills, Gaara."

"And _you_ undermine them."

His swift comeback threw her off-guard and he cast a borderline smug look her way before continuing, "I'm surprised Konoha could spare you for so long as a month."

Briefly glancing down at the reflective layer of wax on the hardwood floor, she furrowed her eyebrows together and answered somewhat tensely, "There are other high-ranking medical ninjas in Konoha." Even though someone else has always been sent on these types of missions, it's not weird that I was sent for such an extended period of time, right?

"None as good as you," Gaara reminded her. He cast a careful glance at her face, seemingly reading her mind before shrewdly changing the subject. "And you were busy with ANBU missions before?"

Her eyebrows rose out of habit at his choice of conversation. "I have. Lady Tsunade has been accepting more missions recently, trying to build up capital and reduce the money's inflation."

"Yes, and I've heard about your incident in the ANBU meeting." So that's what he was getting to. He had intentionally turned his eyes to the window in the left corner, but he watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye.

Sighing, Sakura brought her hand up and pinched the bridge of her nose. Pursing her lips into a tight line, she dropped her hand. "Honestly, how many times do I have to hear about that? Just because they didn't want to hear it, Gaara, does not mean it isn't true. And I_ know_, self-restraint; I get it."

"And I know you know, Sakura, but telling the Council that they're squandering Konoha's money isn't necessarily the best way to go about it." He turned around and searched her eyes pleadingly.

Feeling irritation swell up in her chest at the memory, Sakura quickly looked away before meeting his gaze again, "They should be using the money to better the village,_ not_ on themselves." Her hands found their way to her hips as she stood slanted, challenging him to find a way to disagree with that.

He held up his hands at her reaction. "Hey, you're right. I, more than most people, can relate, but as far as the Council goes, _tact_ is a good thing to keep in mind."

She glimpsed at his figure from her eye's corner and reluctantly gave in. Her forest green eyes settled on him and she couldn't keep herself from thinking how different Gaara had become.

"I'll… keep that in mind, _Kazekage-sama_," she answered in a teasing tone, added with a low bow. She knew he only wanted to help and had even postponed bringing it up for the entire time she stayed, but she still didn't like people taking up for that pathetic, money-grubbing mob of overgrown prunes.

Gaara rolled his eyes at her and waved a hand at her, laughing lightly. "Oh, go back to Konoha already. You know you're dying to get back."

She smiled a little to herself and stood upright. Looking past him, out his window, she paused, wondering if she should continue. "I am… I've had a bad feeling ever since yesterday. Like something's going to jump out at me every time I turn around a corner."

"Have you felt like you've been _followed_, Sakura?" He looked so serious, she felt uncomfortable. Then again, he was always serious.

She looked away on instinct, eyes downcast. Saying she felt anxious, nervous even, wasn't her idea of a pleasant conversation, nor was it something she was used to admitting. She opened her mouth and uncertainly started speaking. "Maybe a couple of times I thought I had sensed something, but I could've imagined it. I _have_ been jumpy these past few days."

Not nearly convinced, Gaara eyed her warily. "You never would have brought it up unless you took it seriously. So are you _sure_, Sakura?"

Mentally shaking out all her thoughts, Sakura set her steely eyes on him. "I'm sure, Gaara. It was probably my imagination."

He stared a few seconds longer, deciding whether or not he thought she was lying. His fingers started to drum on the thick wood in habit and he studied her face. "You're positive?"

"Yes."

She seemed so certain that he wouldn't be able to press anything else out of her. "Alright, go ahead and start traveling home. You have completed your mission successfully." He unwillingly dropped the subject, but checked himself to remember to ask Tsunade a day from now if she made it back on time.

"Thank you. Goodbye, Gaara." And with a nod, she treaded quietly towards the double doors. Grimacing, Sakura wondered if she should've just said something. He wouldn't have minded sending someone with her.

Grimly, Gaara watched her retreating form and the reflection of her on the glossy floor. Her hands shook and he called out, "Sakura, just be careful, alright? Lady Tsunade would practically declare war on me if I let anything happen to you."

She spun around and replied with a microscopic smile on her face, his worried expression more than enough to guilt her into reassuring him. "I'll be careful," she said firmly.

You better be, he thought.

* * *

Sakura stepped out into the cool, morning air with her bag packed, eager to get back to Konoha. With the navy blue of her bag swinging against her back, the clatter of the axe and its case strapped around her shoulders, she sprung off the steps of the apartment Gaara had lent her.

She weaved her way between the people still crowding the streets while she followed the path to the village gates that lead outside the village. Her eyes downcast, she stared impatiently at the passing pebbles and never ending sand. She looked up as the crowd disappeared; now she was in a more deserted area of the country, almost out of town.

Sakura deliberately slowed her pace when the gates came into view. Staring at the broad gates attached to the wall surrounding the village, she thought how similar they were to Konoha's. She shifted her eyes away to the forest abruptly. Was that-? Dismissing her thought quickly, she sped up towards the gates. Wariness pricked at her thoughts. She knew she had sensed a chakra signature following her a few days back. She had felt it when she left Konoha, too.

She sighed shortly and checked her surroundings, full of paranoia. Cautiously, Sakura ran her gaze over the trees, not missing even a branch, running a thorough check over the woods. The trees whistled normally, the wind not catching on anything unusual, no inhales or exhales or any soft footfalls.

The chakra signature she had felt before hadn't seemed threatening, but what could it have wanted?

Continuing her hunt for any ninja, Sakura felt the axe on her back grow heavier; every weapon within a foot of her hands she became thoroughly aware of. Her fingers twitched in readiness, her ANBU senses on high alert for any single suspicious movement she could find. She calculated to herself the distance home and ran some figures through her head, guessing the time it'd take to get there.

As she was reaching into her bag's back compartment to pull out a soldier pill, she sensed two enormous chakra signatures. Her hair stood on end -wide and reeking of blood lust, they were _close_.

Sakura'd barely even registered the chakra signatures before she flung a hand back onto the handle of her weapon, instantly, reflexively fusing chakra into the core of its metal. Only pulling the axe out nearly two inches, she felt a hand clamp over her mouth, sticky with a pungent liquid filling up the inside her already burning nostrils.

Sakura positioned both hands on top of the attacker's gloved ones; they were covered with a cotton cloth and she started to sort out the possible poison invading her system while channeling a tiny amount of chakra into her hands, flipping him over her shoulder into the neighboring trees.

Satisfied with the definite series of cracks she heard, she judged by the sound that he took a blow to the head.One down. She took a step back to check for the other ninja, at the same time finding her entire vision blur and all her senses go flat. Feeling an odd burning run through her veins, Sakura glanced down and saw the veins in her arms start coloring a brownish-gray.

"It's a rare poison. You should feel special to have ever come across it." The voice interrupted her thoughts and confused her senses. It sounded familiar, but through the sluggishness of her hearing, she couldn't tell.

Damn it! she screamed in her mind as fear found its way to her thoughts. She gripped the sides of her legs, looking for the hundreds of senbon hidden by her shorts, but couldn't even feel the fabric of her black shorts against her calloused fingertips.

The voice again was blurred and morphed as it reached her insensitive ears. Who is this? "They call it 'Ice Blood' because your body and all its senses numb like there's ice in your veins."

Through her unfocused eyes, the tan and blue colors of the sand and sky all streaked together and Sakura could barely make out a figure coming towards her.

"It's very nice to meet you, Sakura; I've waited for such a _long_ time, but we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other, won't we?"

Squinting at the form, as a last resort she tried funneling the chakra she could still feel into her eyes to use a genjutsu. And just as she had the jutsu name on her lips, she felt a dull pain at the base of her neck and her eyes closed to darkness.

* * *

"Do you think we made the right choice?"

"This is no time for doubts. Konoha is already lost and without hope; we are merely saving ourselves from its destruction."

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a/n.  
welcome to refuge, reader. :D i hope you enjoyed and feel free to review!

r_e__**v**_i_s_**e**d 11.15.08. (well, I, for one, think it's loads better. next target: chapter 2)

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	2. Konoha

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&don't sue me! I don't own Naruto, I swear!

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Covering itself in the shadows, a cloaked figure stole through one hall after another in the labyrinth of an underground hideout. Dying embers of the hallway torches made a feeble attempt to shatter the thick darkness that choked the area. One quick turn after another, the man expertly weaved through the cement and stone halls, head down in thought with his lips moving but no sound protruding through the silence.

Running his hard fingers over the walls, he effortlessly guided himself through the maze. He focused his chakra into the area, sensing the amount of chakra signatures he could spot within the room nearing on his right. Two surged and receded in waves, flowing intensely through their chakra network and registering directly into his rapid memory bank.

Moving cautiously, the figure's footsteps were inaudible. The first sound to break the stilled hush was a single, sharp knock impacted on a brass door. His knuckles lingered against the cold metal for a second, testing the echo resounding in the room, the reflection of the sound waves off the members inside.

A moment later, the door opened and the figure strode into the center of the unearthly dark room. His eyes adjusting to the light, shapes and hidden faces appeared inside the shadows, two pairs of eyes dimly shining against the back wall. He tilted his head upwards to let the cool air run under the heavy lip of his hood, and waited for the other to speak.

"Yes?"

Methodically, he answered, ready to be busied by some other task. "They've agreed. Everything is going as planned." His tone was demeaning and low, drawled out in disinterest and clipped in boredom.

"Good. Now all that's left is to inform the third party, of course. Will you deliver the message?"

Already spinning around, he threw up a hand and called out over the thumping of his boots against the rock floor, "Consider it done."

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r.

e.

f.

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g.

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chapter  
two!

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September 23

Location- Konoha

Ayame sighed; her white apron, somewhat covered in splotches of ramen broth, was itchy and uncomfortable in the beating sun's warmth. Her fingers twitched for something cool and she found herself more and more often checking the clock, but it seemed as if five o' clock was getting _farther_away. She sighed louder this time, hoping to attract some polite person into listening to her gripe. But when no one spared her any attention, Ayame turned and leaned on the old, weathered wood counter of the ramen shop to face her grandfather, grumbling, "It sure is _hot_ today," stressing the word _hot_ with every ounce of irritation and boredom she'd felt within the past hour.

He merely shook his head, the lines on his face remaining the same in his concentration while making the hearty soup. Drumming her fingers against the counter for a moment, she contemplated whether or not she'd be able to get any conversation while he was working. She tried again anyway. "Isn't that weird? It's fall."

"Weather's been acting out of sorts a lot, recently." His rough hands continued in circular motion over the boiling pot of noodles, and she wondered how anyone could stand the steam from the food _and_the almost blistering heat outside. And who would eat hot ramen on a day like this?

Without much thought into the action, she found herself retying her hair and clasping the chocolate brown locks together neatly with her purple clip. Knocking some sand off her shoes, she elaborated on her grandpa's statement with, "Yeah well, it needs to _stop_." She continued, "Do you think-"

Distracted, she switched her focus to a certain loud blond making a racket by the street corner. The bobbing yellow mop of hair went up and down and up and down over the random food stands as she watched him animatedly question an innocent passerby. Ayame, delighted by some entertainment, the downright startled look on the face of the villager, and the change to the monotonous scenery around her, probed her grandpa for any details.

"What's Naruto _doing_?"

Luckily, he answered. "Saw him at the hospital earlier, too. Looking for Sakura, he said." He had shortly looked up from his pot to glance at the blob of orange and black, a laughing smile creeping onto his cracked lips.

"Wow." Ayame chuckled, watching the scene in front of her with interest. "He's officially brought stubborn to a new level. Shouting on a _street corner_? He's desperate."

* * *

"SAKURA!"

"SAKURAAAA!"

The people in the general vicinity grimaced. Saying that Naruto was loud was an understatement. His voice literally boomed through walls, buildings, you name it. His hands cupped to his mouth for added effectiveness, Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs,

"SAKURA! WHERE ARE YOU? I WANNA GET RAMEN!"

One foot in front of the other, he repeated his search, yelling every other second, determined to find his target. Sand caught in between his fingers and on his knuckles, inside his shoes and on his eyebrows, but he hardly even noticed as he hollered this way and that, despite the scorching weather.

An old man, apparently having quite enough yelling for the morning, scolded him in frustration. "Why don't you just check the hospital?!" His cane stomped the ground in his irritation. Setting his face into a grim, weary expression, he poked his stick out to prod Naruto's broad chest in utter exasperation.

Naruto backed away from the cane with his arms lifted up behind his head, slight pout intact. Shuffling from one foot to the other, he defended himself loudly.

"Hey, take it easy, old man; I've already checked there! I just got back from a mission and me and my friend, you know, _Sakura Haruno_, probably the one who helps you with your joint swelling, _geezer_, are supposed to be eating ramen right now."

The old man ignored the "geezer" comment, distracted by the fact that she wasn't at the hospital. How were they going to get him to _leave_? Hoping for someone –anyone- to have an idea so Naruto wouldn't start "looking for Sakura" again, the old man helplessly searched the crowd, gaze running over equally distressed villagers.

"H-H-How 'bout her house?" yelled one, his shirt swaying as he raised his hand to get Naruto's attention over the high pile of ladders from the local construction site.

Naruto huffed as if he was insulted. "Don't you think I've thought of that already? I've been there. She's not at home!" He looked doubtfully at the crowd that had gathered, sure no one could think of anything he hadn't already.

A lady carrying a bouquet of white lilies peaked behind one of the carpenters with her four year old son grasping her other hand. "Um, I know! The farm with all the herbs?"

"Nope, not there either," he noted, eyes closed and leaning backwards on one foot.

"The…the…the flower shop Ino works at?!" another woman suggested, leaning out a window_ a block away_.

Craning his neck around, Naruto stared at the woman strangely, wondering why she cared when she was all the way over there. "Been there already."

The whole crowd slumped in unison. Had he been all over the village? Everyone desperately exchanged glances at each other for other ideas. The wind picked and hushed some of the awkward mutterings buzzing among the crowd.

A little boy finally spoke up, his voice soft and wondering. "Um, how 'bout the Hokage's Office?"

With wide eyes, Naruto looked down at the boy hugging a stuffed animal. "HEY! That's a great idea; I haven't been there! Thanks, kid!" He leaned over and patted the kid's head before sprinting off into the other direction, bouncing off rooftops as he went.

Watching the springing, orange and black figure quickly receding, the old man glanced down at the young boy standing near him. Chuckling, he sighed in relief before hobbling back into his apartment.

* * *

The Hokage's Tower was the pinnacle of all of Konoha's construction. Dome-shaped, over looking the village, and right beside the Hokage Mountain- it was a sight to see. The red and white building was a symbol of the strong leadership of the village's Hokage and a beautiful centerpiece to all of Konoha's houses.

And it was a given that the Hokage's Tower was kept fairly quiet. It went along with prestigious impression the place practically radiated. The guards monitoring the place walked with a kind of reverence to the historical significance of the structure; the people who worked there talked in a slightly hushed voice most of the time (even if their Hokage didn't share the same convictions).

Which is why, all the guards there tried -in vain- to calm down the determined and driven Naruto from barging in the way he would in a grand total of about seven seconds.

-Seven seconds later-

The doors to the Hokage's Office were slammed open, revealing an accomplished looking Naruto stepping into the room. Tsunade's face held swelling anger as he expectedly waltzed into the room. After hearing an elephant pound down the hallway and guards yelling louder than ever, it wasn't difficult to deduct a reasonable conclusion to the ruckus.

Naruto.

"Sakura! What, were you hiding from me? I was looking everywhere for-"

He gawked at his surroundings, beyond the point of confusion. The room looked like it always did –desk, Tsunade, Shizune, pig- but _no Sakura! _His mouth froze in its open state as he repeatedly studied the room, eyes blinking rapidly, not believing the _lack_ of blinding pink hair and rolling sea green eyes.

His voice reached a whine. "Grandma Tsunade, I can't find Sakura; I thought she'd be here. I just got back from the mission and we're supposed to have _ramen_!" His foot made a low stomp on the carpeted portion of the office.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Naruto cut her off, eyes pleading and desperate. "Ramen, Grandma Tsunade. R-A-M-E-N, this is important!" His arms flailed up and down haphazardly.

Tsunade simply groaned before raising her hands to massage her throbbing temples, her honey gold hair falling over her shoulders in pigtails and pooling on top of her growing pile of untouched paperwork. The scrolls and papers crumbling barely at the light weight, Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her unusual appearance; the wrinkles on her forehead were deeply set in and darkening circles rimmed the hazel of her eyes.

His lips turning downwards, he glanced at Shizune, but she had shifted her eyes away, looking uncomfortably toward TonTon, who was seated sympathetically at Tsunade's foot.

Deftly easing into a question for once, Naruto took into consideration her current state and started off slowly with, "Grandma… Tsunade, are you okay? What's going on?" Worry stained the previous cheer in his voice.

"It's been a long day and the hospital is flooded, Naruto. I'm sure she's just worn out by now," Shizune replied rather quickly. Her usual light tone would've worked if it had've matched her expression, which was now withdrawn and tired in the face and posture.

Umm, okay...? Naruto's eyebrows twisted lowly as he wondered why they were acting the way they were. His ninja sandals echoed faintly on the glossy floors as he swung from one foot to the other in thought.

"U-h, well, I guess I'll just-" he faltered, hands still behind his spiky blond hair, his whole face paling and his lips drying up as an unpleasant idea struck his disordered mind. "Is…something wrong with Sakura?" he managed to choke out. Disbelief and tenseness tugged uneasily at the corners of his lips at the pause in her answer.

Lady Tsunade's silence wasn't met well, and Naruto felt the beating lump in his throat pulse higher and a dizzy feeling settle into his head. His clammy hands clenched because of unwanted thoughts sprouting up in his mind, sounding less and less like Sakura and more and more like someone else.

Lady Tsunade calmly glanced up at him, unfolding her clasped hands from in front of her and setting them on her paper-covered desk with robotic coolness. "I'm only preoccupied with paying off the village's debts. I'm fine. And you can't find Sakura because she's on a mission in the Sand."

Naruto unconsciously let out a sigh; he hadn't noticed he was holding his breath. "Oh, you could've told me that before! But what kind of mission? …It's not dangerous, is it?" he stepped toward her, prodding her for every possible detail.

"No, just a teaching assignment for medical-"

A series of timed knocks resounded on the re-enforced doors, cutting off the conversation.

Tsunade sighed. "Come in."

In came an ANBU member, his black cloak skimming across the floor as he bowed respectfully to the Hokage. "The team has been dispatched, Lady Hokage. They should be arriving in Sand by tonight."

"Thank you."

With a nod, he disappeared through the doorway, leaving Naruto to stare after his quickly departing figure.

Wait, an entire ANBU team…in Sand? His head snapped back towards Tsunade. "Grandma Tsunade, why are you sending out an ANBU team to where Sakura is? Something's wrong with…Sakura, isn't there?"

"Naruto, calm down." Her relaxed posture seemed natural, but had he looked longer, he would've noticed the rigid muscles in her neck and temples twitching under pressure. "She's two days late getting back. I'm only taking precaution. Had I stalled any longer and had you find out about it, I knew you'd barge in here. Looks like that happened anyway."

Naruto fisted his hands tightly and took the information with suspicion, eyes full to the brim with anxiety. "There's nothing wrong? She's okay?"

"I'm sure she's fine, Naruto," Tsunade retorted, staring him the eye soothingly until she dismissed him by resuming her paperwork once again. Her reassuring look was enough to let him leave, but as soon he reluctantly made his way pass the doorframe, shutting the doors with uncharacteristic subtleness, Shizune felt her blood pressure rise. Half-sitting on the desktop, Shizune studied her lady's reaction. "Why'd you do that? You might've just gotten his hopes up." Pleading and strained, her voice broke and halted.

The sound of her pen moving swiftly across the smooth parchment of the scrolls with practiced ease, Tsunade kept her head down, answering decidedly, "But if there's nothing wrong, I'm saving him from worrying."

Shizune stared hard at Tsunade's face, softly taking the pen away from her. "But…what if there _is_, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade sat utterly still for a moment. Then her shoulders drooped, and she put her head in her hands. Falling scrolls rolled across the floor and crinkled under the impact as she replied with a thick, watery voice, "Then I don't know what I or Naruto are going to do."

The sounds of the village filtered through the walls of the office, dimly reaching their ears. Shizune laid her arm around Tsunade's shoulders, but couldn't think of anything to say.

* * *

"What if Tsunade finds out? You know she'll have us executed."

"She won't; she's too worried with finding her precious apprentice. And by the time she does, Konoha will be destroyed and Sakura will be dead."

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a/n.  
voila. chapter two revised. leave a review. :P

r_e__**v**_i_s_**e**d 11.19.08 (chapters have been about twice as long as the original. woo. …next target: chapter 3)

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	3. Rain

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&standard dis-cah-laimer is so righteously applied. peace out.

* * *

As azure melted into white, then crimson, the colors of the sky reflected off two pairs of half-hidden eyes. In front of the picturesque sunset, the two black forms stood as shadows over a demolished wasteland, their cloaks morbidly resembling vultures hunching over prey.

The gentle swaying of the wind though the broken remnants breezed between the two, faintly chiming the zippers of their cloaks. The smaller one shifted its head in the direction of the other, her shoulders drawn close to her body in light apprehension.

"What now?"

The softly spoken question wandered unanswered, even as it drifted to her companion's ears. Beside her, she felt the air shift when he moved. White puffed out of her parted mouth in concealed impatience; the chilled weather around them bit at what exposed flesh there was as she waited for his decision. His right foot slid across the old wood just slightly before he glimpsed her way.

And like the vultures they resembled, both figures jumped off the tree branch in unison and hunted through the wrecked remains of a once building, still clinging to the shadows that were so much like themselves.

"Is there nothing left?"

"We can go. There's nothing left to find."

"But what of the girl?"

The light patter of their footsteps on the shattered stone walls ceased at the right corner where the forest wall met the ruins, ending the search in a clean break. The man replied with a gruff tone, sneering at the unexpected twist of plans.

"She still has a choice to make; we will inevitably find her soon. How can she evade us when no one will take her in? A refugee without a refuge is no better off than a prisoner."

* * *

-

R...E...F...U...G...E...

transmission complete.

this is  
chapter three!

-

-

* * *

March 4

Location- Rain border

Closed eyelids squinted at the unwelcome, entering light. Sakura's pink strands lightly fell across and caressed her face as a deep grimace tore through her features. Clenching her teeth, she hissed at the abrupt pain shooting up and down the sides of her body when she attempted to move. Her fingers and legs twitched with the spasms of her muscles.

Wearily, Sakura opened her viridian eyes and they automatically widened in surprise. Mild disbelief to distorted her expression; she calculated the scene in front of her wary eyes- a damp cave at the base of a thundering waterfall. Droplets of water sprinkled onto her face and dusted her arms and legs. She grit her teeth to control the shiver that tempted to run up her spine from the freezing temperature hitting the raised pores of her skin. Looking upwards, Sakura considered the height of the waterfall and mentally checked herself for all the nearby waterfalls she could recall.

She lifted herself up by her elbows and felt the bare skin on her right hip come in contact with the slick cave floor. Confused, she snapped her head down and saw the peachy expanse of her stomach and legs between dark strips of the cloth draped over her.

Her forehead scrunched lower in surprise; her hands groped the cloak. The smell of old blood filling her nostrils startled her as she moved the covering around. The sudden clink of metal hitting the jagged rocks grabbed her thoughts back to reality with a jolt. Sakura blankly stared at the red ribbon that had fallen out of her hair, with its slab of thin metal that held her village's symbol to proudly claim the front.

I… was in Sand just yesterday; so how did I get…here? she thought.

Letting a low sigh escape past her lips, she looked back down at her body. Deftly, she pulled both ends of the cloak across her torso and noted that she still had her slate gray boots, elbow guards, and gloves, along with her headband. But what was she doing here? Gruffly snatching up her headband, Sakura tried to ease herself up. Her whole body felt sensitive, as if she'd been wounded. And she hadn't had to heal any even remotely severe injuries...

Sakura managed to stand up with the right amount of effort, albeit surprised at how weak her body felt, and peered around at the cave. She raised her head and her vision flashed blank, like the image in front just disappeared all together. Blinking her eyes rapidly, they opened to meet the same cave walls decorated in rotting blood, streaked in patterns printed from hands. Overwhelmed by its strong stench, she felt thick bile creep up the hollows of her throat. She gasped in air as she felt her veins scream in protest at the liquid fire flowing in her body; she began to feel her eyes dilate and her throat close up.

She clenched her watering eyes shut, and the pain just stopped. Quickly opening her eyes, she stared at the walls- free of every trace of blood. There wasn't even the smell of it in the area. It was just gone. Her lips parted at the hallucination, dropping in confusion. She shook her head and vainly tried to pull the cloak over more of her aching body before cautiously stepping through the wall of rushing water, still in a slight daze.

Her boot-clad feet met ice cold, watery soil that sloshed around under the pressure of her weight, and she studied her surroundings- bleak and colorless. Harsh wind bit through her thin cloak, and Sakura felt the information bite just as hard at her single, stunning thought:I'm in Rain.

A sense of hopelessness nagged at the edges of her mind. Rain Country? How was she here? Forcefully channeling chakra into her feet, she-

* * *

"Lady?"

Sakura's fogged mind slowly began to clear as she was woken up by someone tugging on her hands. The pressure was uneven and shaky, and she became aware of the cold seeping into her lower body. Her eyebrows furrowed while she made the effort to open her eyes. Black swam in her vision and she thought, that certainly wasn't a pleasant dream.

"Hey, lady?" called out the same quiet voice.

Her head was limp, hanging down onto her chest without effort. Numbness eating at her skin, she lifted her tired neck and identified a shy little boy around the age of eight in front of her, biting his lip nervously. Her eyes squinted in discomfort at the overcast light shining on her face. Who was this?

"Um, here." His small fisted hand placed itself in hers and left smooth coins in its stead. The contact made her start; it felt so oddly unfamiliar.

Contemplatively, she absorbed the dirty child shifting before her, the light chatter of men and women passing by without thought, and her own body foreign in comparison. Distress creeped onto her face, and she glared down at herself, curled up on a street corner with both hands out, begging for money to buy clothes with.

What a noble picture of a ninja, she thought, bitterness dripping off the end.

"That's for you." His sweet brown eyes looked at her with generosity, holding her gaze encouragingly.

Sakura managed to feebly choke out a soft "Thank you" before he smiled lopsidedly, spinning around into a run after a tall, black haired woman in her thirties. A cough worked its way up her throat; her voice felt like it hadn't been used in ages.

The cold settled in on her body. She tightly grasped the money in her hand and pulled herself up. Survival instincts kicked in- who knows how long she'd been out? Too easily, the icy air peeled through the thin layer stretched around her. The numbness deepened into her chest cavity and lashed out at her lungs.

Her vibrant green eyes searched for her first order of business: finding a clothing store.

After taking the first few wobbly steps, Sakura regained her balance and trudged down the almost flooded street toward a couple of stores. Her teeth chattered audibly as she hoped that at least one of them sold clothes. While she slowly made her way to her destination, skeptic thoughts lodged themselves in her curiosity. How come no one was trying to throw her out? This village is neutral… Shouldn't they be desperate for her to leave?

She studied the villagers passing her, and they would merely look her way and continue with their business. The footfalls on the cobblestone never halting or breaking, the groups of men and women alike brushed by her simply.

Did other ninjas find themselves lost here? As she turned her head, Sakura caught sight of a clothing store's red and black sign to her immediate right, and she dismissed her musings for the moment, hastily deciding that clothes were more important for the time being.

* * *

The sky entirely black, splashes of pink lighted up between the thick green of the forest. The rhythmic pounding on the tree branches was the only noise breaking the quiet. Sweat tickled down Sakura's forehead and she tried to hold in the shuddering gasps from her lungs. The air burned in her throat and chest, dry and scorching. She felt like she was being slowly roasted over an open flame. A sharp pain shooting up into her lungs, she briefly stopped on a tree branch to catch her breath. She wanted to drop and never get up.

Sakura squeezed her eyes closed shut and tried to control her erratic breathing. Plopping down, she leaned all her weight on the tree behind her, sighing in contentment as cold water seeped through her red shirt, cooling the feverish skin underneath. Snow was quickly gathering on her hood and impulse made her search for the kunais strapped onto her black shorts through the high slit of her skirt.

She half opened her eyes to look through the wall of trees, feeling a faint déjà vu washing over her as she did. Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose and fought the on-coming headache pulsing through her temples. Resting her eyes at the thin snow that covered the branch, she lightly considered how long has it been since she'd been gone. Or if the village had been looking for her.

With her arm propped up on her bent knee, Sakura let her eyes droop; her breathing evened out minutely. Had they been worried? Were Tsunade and Naruto okay? Her hand slipping off her knee and falling onto the snow, her eyes snapped back open reluctantly. She moaned slightly as she grasped the tree to heave her tired self up, the dust of snow grazing her hands generously.

She needed to get a move on or she wouldn't be able to make it back before sunrise. With that thought in mind, Sakura jumped off into the dark trees, heading back home at a high speed.

* * *

"What if somehow she comes back?"

"For her own sake, I hope she doesn't… Then again, what do we care?"

-

-

* * *

a/n.  
thanks so much for the reviews, lovely reviewers. :D

r_e__**v**_i_s_**e**d 12.26.08 (and MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR, folks!)

* * *


	4. Return

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&the disclaimer for this fic, yo, is so applied. :P

* * *

Light breeze carried the animated chatter of the villagers through the streets; the surrounding clamor drowned out the shuffling of feet in a deserted hallway, the slow opening and closing of a hidden door.

The dusty room without windows or light didn't show any sign of life until the sound of a stifled laugh grew louder and louder. The sound ricocheted off the four walls, dissonant and harsh. Mice scuttled across the floor at the disturbance, scampering into the holes worn throughout the aged wall.

"Tell me, has Konoha always been so weak?" the last word spit out like venom. "Even the almighty Lady Hokage cannot overrule our will. We will wipe out all of Konoha's pathetic existence and watch it fall at our feet." A satisfied grin stole his confidant features, enjoying mocking their leader's title and the unaware village below him.

One felt the gravity of what was being said; his small gasps were feeble and nearly terrified. "But how much longer do we have to hide this? What if they find out?"

The man stomped his foot against the weak floor, answering the question with a snarl."It's over for them. Before spring even comes, Konoha will be completely crushed."

* * *

-

re.  
fu.  
ge.

-

dost thine eyes  
decieve you?

no. this is  
chapter four!  
thank you for reading.  
:D

-

* * *

March 5

Location- Konoha

Chakra sluggishly streamed through the lines of her legs, groaning in protest as she stubbornly kept up her pace to the forest line. Sweeping her eyes across the thick foliage, Sakura searched for the usual guards in their posts in front of the entrance. Her feet hit the granite with a dull _thud_; subconsciously, her fingers lightly traced the porous surface.

Slacking off? That wasn't like the guards. They were practically dictators when it came to the Gate. Perched atop of those familiar village gates, she looked disapprovingly at the lack of security. What is someone were to sneak in? She glanced over the circle of the village, looking at the various lights shining out of some of the houses. The clusters of market places, construction sites, and housings all seemed exactly the same as she remembered. She shrugged; everything must be okay, then.

Moonlight showered over her back, and shadows hid her distinct features from the light. Her shoulders slumped in relief as she let her guard down. Bringing her arms up, Sakura heard the distinct pop her joints made while she stretched the stiffness in her back. An inaudible sigh of contentment passed through her cracked lips. The pain in her stomach and veins didn't compare to her prevailing thought of finally being _home_. The familiarity could've brought tears to her eyes. Why did it feel like she hadn't been here in ages?

She gripped the powdery stone edge and lifted herself to stand, tentatively touching her head as a swaying dizziness settled in. Her boots scraped across the surface as they slid sideways, catching her lost balance. A thick layer of perspiration was pasted all over her skin and her limbs felt locked in grimaced when the streets benches started looking rather comfortable.

Forcing the thought out of her head, she jumped off her momentary resting place with more power than what was necessary, and onto a series of roofs, flying as she went. Rushing wind whipped around at her fair skin and its sound beat at her ears. Her short rosette locks fluttered around her heart-shaped face as the Hokage Tower rose over the eaves of the buildings and into her sight.

And an apartment room suddenly lit up in her peripheral vision, the blinds snapping up and swinging to the side as she passed it. Turning her head briefly, she glanced back to the yellow light blazing against the black with dim interest. There was a person in the window, gripping onto the sill with both hands. The sides of the buildings overtook most of his face while she eased through the roofs. Facing the Hokage's Tower once more, she wondered who it could have been…

Landing silently at the back entrance, Sakura's tired legs easily worked through the maze of turns, leaving soft echoes off the shining, wood paneled floors. Hallways and hallways one after another grated against her patience while she counted the remaining steps. It was deserted in all the halls. She frowned; another missing guard. A guard was always supposed to be on dutyhere. Frowning at the empty building, Sakura made her last turn, expectant to see the double doors to Lady Tsunade's office.

Vibrancy overshadowed the dulled olive of her eyes- their corners crinkled affectionately. And her lips turned upwards as she neared, then dropped as the doors to the Hokage's Office were snatched open. Cool fingers wrapped themselves around her wrist, yanking her inside, but the memorable scent of formaldehyde filled her nostrils. The doors shut behind her silently and Sakura parted her lips, "What-" before a hand firmly clamped over her mouth.

(She wondered why that felt familiar.)

"Leave. _Now_."

The shape in front of her was distorted in the shadows, but she could plainly see two eyes a foot from her face. Cocking her head to the side, Sakura searched for the face in the dark, trying to match it to the familiar honeyed voice. She tried to push away the hand over her mouth, but it only held tighter.

"Don't… don't talk."

As her eyes adjusted to the lack of lighting, she began to make out blondehair and almond eyes, along with the smell of fingernail polish and sake. The soft sound of papers rustling and glass bottles clinking against each other threw a wave of nostalgia. The hand over her mouth withdrew slowly and Sakura stared, speechless.

"Tsuna-"

"Sakura, you have to leave. Now. You can't be here. Just trust me." Tsunade's glassy eyes were closed from sighing at the end as she tried to avoid eye contact. Her shoulders were slumped discouragingly and the tendons in her arms prodded up from her balled fists that hung tensely at her sides.

"What are you talking about, Lady Tsunade? It's not like you to play jokes." Sakura winced at the way her voice strained pathetically. No, she _wasn't_ one to joke.

"I know.I'm serious, Sakura."

A wave of dread swept over Sakura like a sudden pang of nausea -disorienting and dizzying. "What-you-…you can't possibly be serious!" Sakura disbelievingly searched Tsunade's face, looking for some glimmer, some shred of hope.

She wouldn't find it. And she didn't get an answer either. Fighting back the urge to hug Tsunade's steadily slouching shoulders, she dipped her head to look at her teacher's lowered face. The vast windows in the back of the office spread light on Tsunade; Sakura stared at her blonde head of hair.

"Shin…sou?"

"Just go. You can't stay here. If someone sees you, they'll have to kill you." The whispered words lingered in the air between them and Sakura abruptly felt miles away and not just inches. Tsunade was staring at her, waiting, but the words died in her throat before she even opened her mouth. And Tsunade stood patiently in front of her, very controlled for a seconds; but as her slightly accelerated breathing raised her chest up and down irregularly, her voice came out louder than before at the lack of response.

"Damn it, Sakura, you're a missing ninja! Don't you get it? You've been gone so long; half the town actually thinks you're already dead. …And the Council's vote was unanimous." Tsunade's red-rimmed eyes bore holes into hers. Her voice was grave in all its finality. "You're in the bingo book, and there's nothing I can do. Even as Hokage." Her thick voice broke as she finished, "I'm so _sorry_, Sakura."

Moonlight peeked through the slits of the curtains and Tsunade's defeated expression made her feel numbed, more than anything. "How could that ever be your fault, Tsunade? You shouldn't blame yourself for it; you did everything you could do. And I half…expected it." She glanced through the drawn window curtains. "Just kind of been in denial."

Wood cracked and splintered as Tsunade broke the slab of wood on the door frame in half. "Shut up, Sakura. They had no reason for it. We had no proof of your 'defection' from Konoha, and you know that. You know the Council's laws and you haven't broken them. They didn't and still don't have any proof."

Sakura sighed. You have to be able to defend yourself in a trial like that. What could she say if she didn't remember? "Not really, Tsunade," she paused, flitting her eyes across the unkempt room in discomfort. "I don't… actually know what's happened to me since I was in Sand."

The quiet became more prominent as Tsunade was at a loss of words. "Nothing at all?"

Sakura looked down, half in frustration and half in guilt. "Not since the last day in Sand, when I supposed to come back," her voice dropping in thought. But what happened after she had talked to Gaara? Would he know?

Tsunade's hand reached up to her hair. "Do you have any injuries on your hea-"

The sudden clatter of someone at the end of the hall snapped both of them into the rush of the moment. Tsunade's hand quickly retracted and pressed on her upper arm. "Go, get out of here. Take the back entrance again; it's your best bet."

With a sharp nod, Sakura merely chose to settle with that as a response. She positioned herself to the door, but didn't move anymore.

"Sakura," Tsunade started out, struggling with her thoughts. She dropped her hand and glanced down, " …Just take care of yourself. Be safe."

Stepping toward the door, Sakura briefly glanced over her shoulder at her sensei and turned to leave. She made it two steps before spinning around and falling into a hug. She felt water begin to gather on the top of her pink head and Tsunade's muffled voice reached her ears, "Oh thank goodness you're alive, Sakura."

A pat on the head and a minute later, Sakura looked at Tsunade and left without a word. Goodbye didn't seem like the best choice of words for either of them. She slipped through the double doors and went opposite the direction of the earlier noise, keeping any sounds at a bare minimum.

Her mind in a daze, she somehow managed to make it back to the village gates. She kept to the elongated shadows of the alleys and soon enough, her footsteps echoed on the entrance's cobblestone street. Moonlight still flooded through the trees and her eyes blankly landed on the stone bench to her right before gazing up at the night sky. It was a full moon tonight, too.

Her fisted hands dug into the side of her clothes as she tried in vain to force back the few tears threatening to fall. Sakura wiped them away with the back of her hand and looked back at the village for the last time. Naruto's apartment was on this side of town; please be all right, she thought to herself.

Light pink tendrils had started to break up the once pitch black sky; and Sakura reached up into her hair to untie her Leaf headband. She supposed she should behave like normal missing ninjas, eh? She ran a calloused thumb over the familiar piece of metal and cloth before tying it around her upper arm, the Leaf symbol facing inward. The long ends fell down into her elbow and she thought a little bitterly about how Team Seven had turned out.

Two missing ninjas in one team. Poor Kakashi-sensei. Must be a record or something.

* * *

"Grandma Tsunade, they can't do that to Sakura-chan!! There's no reason to make her a missing ninja! We don't even know if she's…"

"They can, Naruto. And they did."

-

-

* * *

a/n.  
better, yes? and i can't _wait _til sasuke shows. i'm bored without him. /;

r_e__**v**_i_s_**e**d 12.26.08 (this one was really short before.)

* * *


	5. Waves

&dedicated to: **DreamerGirl92813** (for reviewing first) and **Aerin35 **(for sending the wrong messages to you, sorry!)

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&as per the usual, the standard disclaimer is heartily applied.

* * *

Quick, muffled sounds pricked at his ears. Staring through the darkness in his room, he swung his feet off his bed and onto the cool wood floors of his apartment. He craned his neck toward the window as the sounds echoed louder. Walking to the window, he yanked on the string, tearing the blinds up and his face fell into a scowl. A flash of pink sped past him and his hands shook against the white sill.

How is she here? She's supposed to be dead.

* * *

The monotonous scraping of metal against wood accompanied the sound of the fire crackling. The flame cast dim patterns on the walls of the forest clearing and fidgeted with its orange fingers, snapping this way and that.

"So, tomorrow's the big day, huh?"

The figure addressed didn't make any move to indicate that he had heard or would even begin to consider answering. A pregnant silence followed before it was broken yet again.

"Hmph, _rude_."

"Like he would ever bother to answer you, anyway! And _what_ are you _doing_?"

"What, you never seen a guy whittle before?"

"Um, _no_. But can you quit? It's annoying as hell."

"Then maybe you should start it up, too, Karin. You two would have that much in common."

"Oh shut up the hell up, Suigetsu!"

The corner of his lips lifted up, revealing his shark-like teeth. "Hey Sasuke! Maybe we should leave her here! If Itachi does show, then we wouldn't have to worry about Karin screwing everything up!"

Karin huffed in response. Her arms folded over her chest and she looked down her nose at him with her very best _you-unworthy-scum _look. "Can it, _shark boy_."

Suigetsu threw his hands out in a mock conciliating fashion, palms facing up. "No, it's okay, Karin! We all have talents; screwing up everything's yours." He threw back his head and laughed.

"_I'm_ the one who has to track him, remember? I don't see you doing anything, jackass!"

"Maybe you're too busy stalking Sasuke to see anything besides his butt, you stupid whore!"

"Like I give a damn about what you think!" A mop of silver hair ducked as her hand swatted at his head. He threw up patches of dust as he slid around the fire and behind a much larger frame than his.

"Well, I bet Juugo agrees with me! Don't you, Juugo?"

Juugo's half lidded yellow orbs showed barely any recognition of being asked anything, until both Suigetsu and Karin kept staring; he shifted in his seat and looked away, not answering.

"See, he agrees with me! Everyone thinks you're worthless."

"I am _not_ worthless!" Her red hair jerked around as she made a series of attempts to punch Suigetsu's face in. Her knuckles pulsed red quickly as she repeatedly mistook his head for a stray branch while he skirted off unharmed.

"Oh, you're completely right! I forgot: you're a _stupid_, worthless whore!"

"Argh, Suigetsu!"

"Shut up."

The two figures froze in their spots at the sound of their leader's deep voice interrupting their conversation, before immediately returning to their previous places. They didn't make a single sound until his black eyes closed shut once more.

_Tomorrow, huh? Tomorrow, you're dead, Itachi._

* * *

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- r-

- e -

- f -

- u -

- g -

- e -

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it's  
chapter five,  
folks!

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* * *

March 14

Location- Waves

Light breeze whistled through the trees, leaving waving shadows streaming across Sakura's sleeping face. Her shoulders and fingers jerked as she dreamt restlessly, flinching every so often when a leaf brushed against her arm, a blade of grass skimmed the side of her hand. Her eyebrows pulled lower on her forehead, scrunching in thought while more warmth gradually heated up her skin. The sun rose over the horizon and the distant snapping of twigs and branches tugged her out of her chaotic dreams.

"So what are we going to do in town today, Daddy?" The rustling of the grass was uneven to Sakura's ears as the little girl skipped around in reckless circles. The debris littering the ground crunched in protest.

"Well, we need to trade those-" The man's voice trailed off, and the sole crack of leaves signaled that he had stopped dead in his tracks. He shifted a little either in thought or nervousness. Sakura guessed the latter.

"What is it?" The girl's wide, innocent eyes looked up at him in absolute confidence. Curiously, she searched around for what had distracted her father, finally resting on a woman leaning against an old elm tree.

Sakura lifted a single eye to discreetly glance at the civilian. The man looked as if he already had his farewell-to-life speech going through his head, so she thought she'd better not give anyone an actual reason to raise her status to "priority" in the bingo book. No quick movements or he might go running off into the trees and forget his daughter. But she really should have remembered to put away her weapons, so this wouldn't have happened.

The little girl's hair was like spun gold as it glittered in the sunlight. She took an eager step forward to study the pink haired ninja. "Hi! Are you from here?" asked her bright childish voice. Her head cocked to the side and her lower lip jutted out cutely, turning directly to a pout at the firm grip now registering itself on her arm. Her father leaned down to her ear and furiously whispered something along the lines of, "We don't talk to ninjas like _them_. Probably another one of those Sound ninjas creeping around here."

He'd meant it to be disrespectful to her, but he looked a tad too fearful to pull it off. Mentally sighing, Sakura lifted herself up from her sitting position. Yeah sure, she thought, hate us ninjas till it's wartime and we're saving your helpless asses.

But Sound ninja? Why would he assume that of all things?

Beams of light pulled across her face- the wind picked had up, pushing the trees and throwing light pink hairs across her face. She could really hardly keep herself from snorting at the man's comment. Sound was practically extinct, ever since Orochimaru was killed those years ago. Unsureness nagged at her growing doubt. It had been around two weeks since she'd started aimlessly traveling from village to village, and hearing complaints of Sound ninja sightings was becoming less and less frequent.

Sakura's pink eyebrows furrowed as she titled her head upwards to the early morning light. And then the villagers mentioning one of the old buildings in the southeast corner suddenly disappearing... She frowned. Sound couldn't possibly have something to do with it, could it?

Then she took a bored, uninterested glance at the snowy scene and felt the corners of her lips tug upwards. With a shrug, Sakura decided that just because she was a missing ninja and shouldn't necessarily be wandering around didn't mean she couldn't do a little recon if she felt like it.

* * *

"Do you sense something?"

"It's faint, but a chakra signature seems… to be moving in the same direction we are."

"Anyone we know?"

"Don't know; I don't recognize it."

"Sound?"

"I doubt it. My best guess is that's it's female, and judging by her chakra flow, a medic ninja, too."

"Then it's probably no one important to us. Let's keep moving."

* * *

Thick swabs of green raced past her as the scenery flashed behind. Sakura swung out her arms and caught the next branch, ducking under it and back onto another branch. Her body stretched out reflexively. It had been so long since she'd done much of anything.

Wind tunneled in and out of her ears_, _and somewhere in the back of her mind, the noise slowly increased -something whirring, like the faint sounds of screams... Her vision flickered black, erasing the trees and the cloudy skies. The tips of her fingers grazed against wet rock and her body swam in a shallow layer of something pungent… like chloroform? Her insides burned, but her limbs were frozen and heavy. One pair of eyes peered through the darkness at her lifeless body and a mouth opened.

But the sound of rushing wind came out again_. _A quick blink later and Sakura barely escaped plummeting head first into a tree. Sweat had beaded on the nape of her neck. In a flash, she dipped under the limb she was on and scaled up the tree to her right. She crouched behind the trunk in a defensive position.

Seconds passed by and not a single kunai slashed through the air, whizzing toward her like she'd hoped. Genjutsu was her first thought, but if she couldn't find any ninja…

Sakura's shallow gasps met her ears and she tried to pace her breathing. Bark splintered beneath her fingers as she pulled herself up from her crouched position, and her suddenly weakened legs almost buckled under her own weight. It was like it had just happened to her.

Focusing white-hot chakra into the pupils of her eyes, she scanned the forest for any ninjas that might've placed a genjutsu on her. The swirling energy burned under her corneas, enhancing a more detailed view but smearing her regular vision in wide streaks. Faint tinges of chakra signatures lined a village some ten miles away, but each one was weak and undeveloped. She grunted. Civilians.

Frustrated, Sakura pulled her hands into stance and muttered several _Kai_'s under her breath, resending the chakra to her hands more than once, but nothing happened. Reluctantly convinced that whatever it was, it wasn't genjutsu, she redirected the chakra going to her eyes and sent it rushing toward the bottoms of her feet and sped through forest.

What was that? She glimpsed at the thinning trees around her- solid, tangible, _real_. Her body was unharmed and there were no ninjas within a seven mile radius… Then what just happened?

Sakura shook her head, hoping to chase away that thought. Dryly, she wondered if she was going crazy. She had known of a few cases where ninjas had become mentally unstable from stress or long-term exhaustion. At that, she told herself to just stop thinking. It wasn't anything. After weeks of no social contact whatsoever, and being thrown out of her own village, her imagination might have every right to go a little haywire. It couldn't possibly have happened because she would've remembered... (Maybe not.)

Sakura landed with a soft _plop_ on the soggy ground beneath her as she reached her destination. Her eyes hardened and calculating, she searched for something familiar in the mess of her disappeared memory. Slowly looking around, she was both happy to finally have something to preoccupy herself with for the first time in what seemed like years, and a little wary of what she might find.

Within seconds, her shoulders slumped. Sakura sighed disappointedly. Rumors; can't ever trust them. A disappeared building? It was a lake in Waves Country. It wouldn't be a longshot to guess it simply had been flooded.

She looked around; nothing suspicious at first glance. It was a large clearing surrounded by the forest. It lacked luster, for sure. The whole patch was practically all lake. It was odd, though –how it was shaped. It looked like a massive crater that just happened to be filled with water. Then again, it could be a crater. They would get enough rain here for that.

She shuffled towards the edge of the lake and channeled a light, steady flow of chakra into the soles of her feet before stepping onto the water's surface. The thin film broke in circular patterns with every step, fanning out and disturbing the stillness. She smoothly made her way to the center of the lake and tilted her face to the overcast sky. The thick clouds were dark and foreboding: for Waves country, that was a sure sign it was going to storm soon. Hard. Then again, it was always hurricane season in Waves.

The water splashed as she jolted backwards, half covering her surprised yelp. Her wide eyes peered curiously down through the water at the object floating beside her foot. Cold, empty eyes blankly stared into hers. And an odd sense of déjà vu washed over her.

The body's pallid face rested on top of a broken cement block that, judging by its jagged edges, had probably been roughly snapped off of a rather large wall. She wasn't shocked, more caught off-guard than anything. The fishlike glow of the face was startling, though not nearly unaccustomed to. Moss and seaweed lay unsympathetically around the corpse's head to complete the charming picture.

Thoughtfully, Sakura pulled her foot away from the body and lifted off a wide strand of green from his forehead. She clucked with her tongue in disappointment when there wasn't a forehead protector under the mass of seaweed. He had ninja clothes on, though. Could he have been from Sound? Or would that be assuming too much?

She stood up once more and moved away from the soulless face that stared through her, eyes alertly scanning the water while she treaded across the surface. The lake steadily took on a more light-red tint, and as the broken cement became more obvious, so did the decomposing faces that lingered in the depth of the water. There were only a handful of men and a few women that floated near the surface, caught on some piece of building or hooked onto a random plank. The rest Sakura could see far below, their forms wavy and obscured by the green-black floor of the lake.

Speechless, she couldn't tear her eyes from the grotesque sight. She had the distinct impression that only some of the bodies had died before the building collapsed, or more likely, was unexpectedly torn down. The various open wounds that were still clearly visible showed they had died in some sort of sudden battle. But it would've taken quite a force to tear down such a sturdy building, especially all at once. It must have been recent, too, by the looks of things.

It was almost like walking in a dream; it didn't feel real. Something about the way everything was laid out seemed predictable, as if… The air was very silent as she thought, eerie and whispering; maybe she was just imagining her ears picking up the sound of screeching yells, clashes of metal, the sound of fresh blood splashing the walls. An image blurred in front of her eyes, of dark rooms, haunting eyes, and mocking smiles.

But maybe it was just her ninja mind supplying a scene for her. (Could be.) The uniform expression of horror was painted on all their faces. What would it have been like? Even with all the dead bodies she'd seen before, Sakura always wondered what they might have seen last.

Looking up from the lake, she nearly jumped in surprise as a strong chakra signature swiftly traveled to her spot; gooseflesh covered her neck. It raced toward her, so fast she couldn't pinpoint his exact position. The signature was powerful and wide, but focused into a perfect dome one mile around. Not moving from her place at the lake's center, she looked over her shoulder at the intruder, deceptively calm as her fingers found their malicious way to the weapon scroll at her side. Blood dripped from her thumb while she sliced through the skin, waiting to smear it across the summoning parchment when the ninja broke through the tree line.

A figure appeared at the southwest corner. Sakura's apple green eyes widened as they caught sight of a pair of black orbs boring into her own.

…

Sasuke?

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a/n.  
yikes, i can explain how happy i am to have another person to write. lol

r_e__**v**_i_s_**e**d 1.23.09 (Only two more chapters to revise!)

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	6. Sasuke

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&dedicated to: **DreamerGirl92813 **(for reviewing first yet again! ;D) and **Kunoichi Sedona **(for reviewing every chapter in a row. welcome to Refuge!)

&the DISCLAIMER is APPLIED, alright? no more law suits, okay?!

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chapter six of

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R.E.F.  
U.G.E.

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oh yeah.

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March 14

Location- Waves

The solid gray sky emitted a strange silver glow on his raven colored hair. He was tall, Sakura thought. He stood silent and grave, almost like a ghost, lingering in the shades of the trees. He took a step forward out of the shadows, but not a single sound drifted to her ears. He seemed to still be moving closer, yet his advances were silent. He walked deliberately and carelessly; a cheetah pouncing on its prey came to mind. Wryly, she pondered her chances of being his _prey_ –even more, she speculated why he was here.

But Sakura didn't make any move to face his direction. She made sure she hadn't swayed an inch. His eyes were much too sharp to miss any reaction -of fear or of nervousness. Forcefully, she pulled her face blank. She was surrounded by bloody bodies and broken buildings, but Sasuke's figure was a blur to her eyes, just a haze -a mirage- haunting her distraught mind. With a dry humor, she contemplated the probability of this being just another "stress-induced hallucination". Although if she had've chosen to hallucinate _him, _she certainly would've imagined a more convenient and less threatening meeting.

Mist swept across the reflecting surface of the water, the stillness of the moment shattering as Sakura slowly turned her back to the morbid scene. Resting her hand on her hip, she met Sasuke's narrowed eyes with her own. Uncharacteristically, she found herself without a million thoughts running through her mind. Silent, like everything else. Then across the distance, she picked up the faint sound of her name drifting to her ears; no sooner, she was abruptly staring into his broad chest.

Cool air rushed lightly to her face, blowing her hair back in a single _whoosh_. He's gotten fast, Sakura noted as she raised her head to look him in the eye, briefly wondering if he was trying to intimidate her by standing so close to her. What in the world did _he _want with _her_, anyway? No, what _could _he want from her?

Sasuke's jaw remained level to the ground for five even seconds, not even looking her in the eye, merely facing the space between their two respective heights. His strong features lowered to glare down at her. His mouth opened in that instant. And she half expected him to close it and walk away. When _was_ the last time she heard him speak? "What are you doing here, _Sakura_?" his baritone voice reverberating from the very depth of his chest.

Straight to the point, as always, right, Sasuke? For a moment Sakura let herself think of Team 7: were we always so intolerable to you, Sasuke?

Unaffected, a taunting smile curved her lips. Defiance surged through her like an angry storm, forming into a knot burning in her stomach. Did he expected her to answer him? He needs a response and she's supposed to give it to him just because he asked? He wasn't someone who was going to throw her off-balance. Unlike Naruto, she wasn't ever able to get away from life after Sasuke left… -all the passing comments, all the whispers, all the pitying looks.

So if he thinks I'm going to hand over what he wants, she thought with grim satisfaction, then he's dead wrong.

Sakura teasingly shrugged her shoulders and glanced over his shoulder. "I don't really know." She held in a victorious smirk at her nonchalant manner. Last she remembered, nothing bothered Sasuke so much as someone not taking him seriously. Although she had to admit that looking _up_ at someone and sounding serious was a feat she wasn't sure she would entirely pull off.

Dipping his face, Sasuke paused with his eyes just above hers, a frown dropping the corners of his lips. "Don't _test_ me, Sakura." That might have possibly been the best toneless voice that she had ever heard. While including all the intended harshness.

But she was steadily getting annoyed at how he said her name. Was he really talking down to her? Although, Sasuke was progressively becoming more and more murderous as she hesitated answering. Sakura debated the consequences of provoking him any further. Cocking her head to the side in a nature very close to a challenge, she elaborated. Barely. "Actually, I meant what I said. So what are _you_ doing here, Sasuke?"

Not expecting a response at all, she turned on her heel, pivoting in the opposite direction. The tops of the trees bobbed up and down as she marched towards the lake's edge. She almost couldn't believe herself. Was she really _walking away_ from him? Just like that? Getting him back to Konoha had been the goal of years of hard work, and she honestly wasn't going to try anymore? Even though she technically couldn't get him into Konoha, because of the simple fact that she couldn't get into Konoha. Not legally.

And why was he here, anyway? It's a common fact that no one just _runs_ into Sasuke Uchiha. Ever. Even _with_ all the head hunters after him, he's never caught off-guard or cornered. So what could he possibly want with this place? Or her, for that matter. Did he know what happened here?

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura risked one last glance at the demolished wasteland. She was here; she knew she had been. But why? When?

Breaking her train of thought, Sakura felt Sasuke's hand wrap around her upper arm, jerking her back to face him. His fingers crushed into her skin in a vice-like grip. She caught his eyes narrow at the headband tied inward on her arm. Apparently, she noted wistfully, she underestimated his growth in speed. She hadn't felt him move.

He looked up at her and waited for an explanation, his black eyes gazing straight through her. She raised her chin and glared, daring him to ask. (He had always hated having to ask questions, she remembered.) But he'd already figured it out within seconds of seeing her. She wouldn't need to explain. She hadn't batted an eyelash when she first saw him… That alone gave away her circumstances because if she was a Leaf ninja, she would have been obligated to try to arrest him.

_If. _

"Hey, you! Lady!"

Heavy footsteps sloppily trudged through the muddy ground. Now, what? Sakura thought. She glanced over towards the man and sighed. A civilian never truly presented a threat to any self-respecting ninja. And right now he was in the way.

"Yes, you! You owe me some reimbursement!" His last stomp sent a splash of mud up in the air, marring the sides of his thick jeans.

Sakura turned to fully face him, putting her back to Sasuke out of spite. She heard him grunt at the demeaning gesture. She gave the man in front of her a swift, measured look; what would a farmer want with her? He was either stupid or blind to take on two ninjas… missing ninjas, at that. Doesn't he should know that they didn't have any allegiance to keep from killing him?

Deciding to ignore Sasuke a little longer, Sakura began walking toward the man. He was in was in his late thirties; early forties? A little young for a death wish. "What do you mean I owe you 'reimbursement'? I don't know you," she responded, hoping to end the conversation before he could get hurt. Water rippled against her ankles and alerted her to Sasuke's shift. He wouldn't actually hurt a _civilian..., w_ould he?

The man huffed in response. "Yes, well the friends you were with wrecked my field and someone's obligated to pay for it. And it looks like you're the one who has to deal with it now." In another circumstance, she might have laughed at how he sounded. As if he could make her do anything.

Sakura's face tensed in mild confusion. "Friends?" The man rolled his eyes and chided her. "Don't play innocent with me. Tall, black cloaks." She paused as his words dawned on her.Resending chakra to her feet, she promptly jumped in front of the man, standing close enough to smell the fading odor of whiskey in his breath. Fabulous. He was worse than stupid; he was _drunk_.

Grabbing a fist of coarse denim, Sakura pulled him toward her and worked to keep the distress out of her voice as she said, "What did the cloaks look like? And why did you think they were my friends?"

Sakura only got another whiff of hard liquor and debated whether or not being so close to him was worth it. His scruffy, brown five o' clock shadow muffled his complaints about being woman-handled, and he vainly attempted to wriggle himself out of her unyielding grasp. Sakura resisted rolling her eyes; like he could get away. "Let me down and I'll tell you!"

Hm. Sober enough to dislike being picked up by a female. And he's also not slurring his words. All very good signs, she noted.

"Fine, but answer my question," Sakura muttered while she let go of the farmer. In return, a fresh waft of air filled up her breathing space once again.

His heavy boots clanked as he fell backwards, the motion causing his dirt covered overalls to swish up and down. His arms flailed out to regain his balance, and he looked so disoriented, Sakura wondered if she'd have to ask him again. He stared at her for a second with the blankest look on his face before he answered, "Well you would know: they _were_ with you. They had those black capes with puffy red splotches on them. Except yours."

Sakura shifted to her left foot. Should she push her luck with the man? Because he _could_ take advantage of his situation and refuse to tell her anything else until she paid him for the damage. Which she would be unable to do for quite some time, without of course, illegal measures taken into consideration. Which was beyond out of her options.

Water pushed against her boots and forgetting the topic on hand, she noticed Sasuke's intense glower, most likely directed toward the conversation itself. Scowling, he strode up behind her. Radiating heat tickled her back when he did- a major contrast from the settled cold. Snapping her attention back, Sakura questioned him anyway. "But what were they doing with me, though? Are you sure they were with me?"

The farmer played with the thin straw between his teeth and took his time responding, this time with a tiny slur present. "...I don't know, lady. You raced across my field and they chased you. You looked over your back and seemed to know them. It was... three or four of them, each one a couple feet from each other, tearing through my crops that took me months-"

"Yes, I understand that; I'm very sorry for the trouble, but were they chasing me, and I was trying to get away? Did they catch me?"

Landing a rough, calloused finger on the side of his tanned face, he stared at her. He had started to sway a little and was looking more disoriented. "Do you not remember? It was two weeks ago. And I don't know what happened after that."

_Two weeks ago. _

Two weeks ago was the day she woke up in Rain. Wearing exactly what he described. Sakura's mouth set in a line as she sighed. He just made everything more confusing. "That's all you saw?"

His swaying tuft of brown hair bobbed up as he looked back at her. He wiped his hands on his overalls and retorted, "Huh, I guess I'm all out of whatever you're interested in, so now you don't have any reason to stay, am I right? Well, I don't know why you're here again, but you need to pay for the damage. I've already lost enough money these past couple of weeks, as it is."

Slight shame inched onto her face. Sakura's pink locks fell in front of her face as she mumbled an apology. She was all too aware of her empty wallet. And again, stealing wasn't an option. It wasn't as if she could pay him, and it really wasn't his fault this happened. "I'm sorry; I don't have anything to give you right now."

He was looking far from sympathetic; angrily he reminded her, "I can guess that! I don't need an excuse; I need some damn money!"

She bit back an irritated remark. Firmly looking at him, Sakura made a promise she wasn't altogether sure she could keep: "I can't now, but I'll get you the money during the first week of spring. I promise."

His now glazed brown eyes glared hatefully at her. Clumsily, he motioned to her, grunting with disbelief. "Like I'd trust you, anyway! You're the reason I have a problem in the first place, you little b-"

His speech slurred as he fell forward; Sakura retracted her hand from the back of his neck in time to catch him before he hit the ground. Sighing, she heaved his weight onto her shoulders with an eerie amount of ease, still having to hold her breath at the strong stench of alcohol on both his breath and clothes. He certainly was not the happiest drunk she had ever encountered. She set him down under a nearby tree and pulled herself out from under his arms to slide back. Gazing into the forest line, she wondered why he was here in the first place, and then remembered the line of farms in the village. Sakura glanced at him and thought about which one might be his. But it was a little late to ask him now. And should she really believe everything some smelly drunk told her?

She looked over her shoulder, only half surprised to see that Sasuke was still there. Since when did he wait around for anybody? "What do you want, Sasuke? I'm sure you don't want to waste anymore time here standing around with me." She felt a very slight satisfaction that she had made him wait for something.

His bangs brushed across his high cheekbones as he tilted his head in her general location. His lips slightly parted, but that was the last thing she saw before she felt his strong arms pinning her against the tree. Ruefully, she smiled against his hair in that instant. He loved using drama to get his point across far too much. He only remembered her from before; thinking from that perspective, physical force was a good angle to try. But he would learn it wouldn't get him anywhere. "You're right. I don't want to waste my time; so go ahead and tell me what happened here."

Sakura rolled her eyes for his benefit. Listlessly rolling her head to the side, she faced him directly. "And why would you care about anything that's happened to me, Sasuke? There has to be something in it for you. In fact, are you here because you thought Itachi would be here? You couldn't have come just to see pitiful me for old times' sake."

A smug smile crept on her face. He looked positively menacing. "I take it I'm good at guessing?" she said.

Sasuke's grip on the bark of the tree tightened considerably as she heard it give way to a sharp _crack_. Sakura grunted at his moodiness. "Don't threaten me, Sasuke. We both know you won't kill me."

His pale skin almost glittered in the gray light when he cockily raised his head, a superior smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. He always was the quickest. Threatening her would get him nowhere, so he might as well be the arrogant son of a bitch that he was. "And why's that?"

Bringing her face closer to his, Sakura countered, "One: let's face it; you don't think I'm worth your time to kill, and two: if you wanted me dead, I'd most likely be dead right now, and three: you're still hanging around. You think I know something that I don't, but are too stubborn to believe me when I say I don't, because I'm your only chance right now, aren't I, Sasuke?"

His smirk fell into its typical deep scowl, etching fine lines around his mouth. "I have my reasons, and you're not dead because I've found a use for you, Sakura," his breath tickling her face as he leaned in before pushing away and turning in the opposite direction.

As usual. Always walking away. Sakura frowned at his back, bitterness swelling up in her chest.

"Are you coming?"

Sakura's head snapped up to Sasuke's face. He had better be joking. "And why would I do that, Sasuke?" she asked, not liking his bossy attitude toward her when she hadn't seen him in three years. But then again, what's three years between friends, right?

Barely looking over his shoulder, he kept his face impassive and acted like it was obvious. "What else do you have to do? You're a _missing ninja_, right?" (Regretfully, she realized that none of his mannerisms had changed while he was away. That same cocky tilt of his chin while he looked over his shoulder…) But absolutely refusing to grace him with a response for that one, she returned the best deadpan face she had.

"I have a job for you to do and happen to know something about this building, which you're obviously interested in. Good enough for you?"

Sakura bit back her tongue at his tone; glaring at his outline, she chimed in a "Fine," and immediately regretted it at Sasuke's smug reaction. Following him into the woods, she briefly wondered what she'd just gotten herself into. And really, what was she thinking in the first place? Sasuke _always_ won in the end -it was one of his most proud accomplishments in life.

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a/n.  
drop a review for your tired authoress!

r_e__**v**_i_s_**e**d 2.01.09 (woo. :P)


	7. Deal

&dedicated to: **ToraHimeSama **(for being the first reviewer of chapter six –and also a faithful reviewer! thank you very much.)

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&the [standard disclaimer] can be considered *officially* applied.

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this is  
-REFUGE-

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chapter seven.

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March 14

Location- Waves

Branches snapped under his feet like twigs. His speed was both sheer power and exhilaratingly effortless. Bark and heartwood tore by her face, breaking off from the trees as Sasuke flew ahead of her. Her eyes gained a thin film while she dazed at the unusual presence of wild and fierce, rushing chakra being manipulated in effective, taming strokes. It was her medical fascination kicking in- his chakra didn't merely flow; it _pulsed_. It beat like a heart: expanded and receded like inhales and exhales.

Sakura could faintly hear the chakra in his veins and she tried to concentrate on the point where it mostly gathered…

Team 7 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha.  
-become Hokage!  
………………………………-Sakura, look out!  
-celebrate over ramen, Kakashi-sensei.  
-He will come after me-………….. -… for power…………….  
………………………………………..-Sakura, who hurt you?  
-this power- …………….- flowing through me-  
I wasn't- …………………………………………………..-the one who saved you-  
-the power to-…………. -kill a certain man-  
………………..-you're worse than Naruto.  
-Thank you.  
-I need- ……………………..-power.

_I love you more than anything!_

Sakura felt herself flinch. Stop thinking. She shook her head, pink strands falling in front of her face. The fast moving trees reflected off the glassy surface of her eyes; the picture dully registered.

Abruptly, Sakura's eyebrows drew together in thought; she glanced at Sasuke's back suspiciously. This has all happened way too conveniently. Was he already here? Did he sense someone and came regardless of who it was? And then the farmer showing up at that precise moment. A coincidence, maybe, but what about that place linked them together?

_"With the cloaks."_

The Akatsuki…

Taking her lip in between her teeth, she bit back a half-hearted laugh. If only Shikamaru were here to help her think. Because Akatsuki… Akatsuki was dead. The bodies had been found and all the members had officially been marked as dead in the bingo books. So who were they then?

And why were they with her?

Almost in response to her thoughts, Sasuke's body swiftly disappeared before her eyes. Startled, Sakura jerked herself down between the trees to the forest floor. She straightened herself up and placed a hand on her right hip. A few yards ahead she saw Sasuke in his very best _holier-than-thou _pose. Sakura held back a sigh. Had he really always been this mute?

He stood leaning on his left heel with his hands in his _pockets_- one of the biggest insults you can give a ninja. That she wasn't even worthy enough that he needed his hands. Even though she knew he was doing it to spite her for turning her back to him before, her hands still twitched to prove him wrong (ruefully, she wondered what his facial expression would be if she pounded a crater in front of him) but she settled for glaring at him instead.

Moments passed by and he still hadn't said anything. If anything, he seemed a little… expectant. Huffing under her breath, she snapped at him. Patience never was her virtue, after all. "_What _do you want, Sasuke?" Matching his intense stare, Sakura waited for a reply, a sentence, a word -anything. If he wanted something from her, she was determined to at least make him vocalize it.

Seconds kept ticking by and her black finger gloves started weighing heavier, reminding her of her other, albeit unnecessary, pleasant option of breaking something in half. Or pieces. Either worked, really.

His face was impossibly blank as he made the slightest part in his lips before finally uttering an answer. "I was there because I had reason to believe that Itachi would be there, but there's not even a trace of his chakra anywhere. So imagine my surprise at finding you instead, in the middle of a lake with dead ninjas floating around you. For the last time, _why_ were you there, Sakura?"

So, he hasn't forgotten how to speak.Defiantly ignoring his serious tone, Sakura chose to keep in mind his earlier comment. "I already answered that when you first asked, and you still haven't told me about that building. What do you know about it?"

Sasuke evenly looked at her with impassive eyes, leaning back as he sighed. He looked over her shoulder again. It looked like he was going to humor her. "The building is rumored to have been an Akatsuki hideout, one used to torture people. It was found collapsed _two weeks ago_," eyeing her knowingly; his eyes made her feel as if he could see through every cell of her body, seeing what even _she _couldn't remember.

"Are you sure it was two weeks ago?" She had tried to hide her initial shock, but her mind was racing with dates and facts. Her eyebrows scrunched together. Two weeks ago… Regretfully, she noticed she let her guard slip because something shifted in Sasuke's face; the intensity took on a different tone as his sharp eyes took in every detail of her outline, but he didn't answer.

Who was she kidding? Of course he's positive (damn it). Sakura's mouth set into a nervous line, and she tried not to clench her fists too visibly. "Again, I meant what I said. I don't know why – I – …"

Mentally frustrated at her lack of composure, she took in a sharp breath, collected herself, and answered shortly. "The last day I remember was September 21." She let out a dry, empty laugh and looked down at the melting snow. "It doesn't _look _like early fall, does it, Sasuke?"

A strong emotion was biting at her stomach, something akin to shame. She felt his eyes pouring over her face, but she refused to look up. What did it matter to him, anyway? She hadn't even seen his stupid arrogant face in three years.Glaring at the snow in front of her, something clicked in the back of her mind, and her eyes fixated on Sasuke's snow covered shoes. Why did that seem-?

-

-

Does that hur- ………………………….-Sa-ku-ra?-  
We ca-……………. -make it stop.  
……………….-Don't worry,  
………………………………………-we'll let you- …-watch it fall.  
-just choos- ………………………………….-who'll you-  
who will you choose to save?

"Still being stubborn, huh?" His foot slammed into her stomach, and her ripped skin swept across the slick rock in one jerky movement. She forced the groan in the back of her throat down. Glaring at him, she lifted her head and spoke. "Missed me that much, huh, Miroya? Still want to take me up on that challenge?"

His grimy hand reached out and yanked her up by the front of her shirt. "Might want to watch your mouth on that. What if I decide I do want to have a little fun with you?"

Wriggling her hands behind her back to work the chakra binds loose, she titled her head and willed herself to humor him a little longer. "You can try." A slow malicious smile crept onto his lips and he brought her face closer to his. "I do like 'em feisty. Makes it all the more fun to," she felt the sharp crack she heard pounding in her elbow, "break them."

Sakura sucked in a deep breath by reflex, regretting it once the same bind on her neck sliced through a thin layer of her skin. She watched his eyes go vacant as he stared at the winding trail of blood trickling down her collarbone. 'Where do they get these freaks? Sakura thought. His blood's been mutated by something; just at the sight of blood, he loses it.

She strained her neck backwards as his grubby fingers stretched towards the cut on her neck. Rubbing the blood on the tip of his finger, he drew his hand to his mouth, licking the blood off slowly, gently. "It's your lucky day; I think I'm in the mood for that game, now." His eyes still blank, he muttered to himself, somehow forgetting she was even there. "I'm not supposed to ever be in here when I haven't been ordered to, though. They'll be mad." She caught something flash in his face, and he rolled his head to side almost dumbly. "How about getting these clothes out of the way, huh?"

Jerking her face directly in front of his, she spit in his face, and felt him drop her as he roared aloud in rage. Sakura snapped her eyes up to his. His eyes! They were… They were red like the sharingan. Just the tomoes are slanted. What- Her thought was cut short as she rolled on her side, dodging his fist hitting the ground. Wide-eyed, she realized she'd barely dodged it at all. Her nose almost touching the side of his snow-covered shoe, she thought, snow? It was winter? His wild laugh dragged her back to reality, and she pulled herself up. With one swift movement, the binds were thrown across the room, landing in its own pool of barbed wire.

Miroya slowly turned his head in her direction, eyes blazing cadmium red, just a cheap imitation of the real thing. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards erratically, and his body literally started tearing itself apart. His muscles bulged up together and the veins in his arms became visible as they swelled underneath the changing color of his skin. "Have a liking to snow, do you? The boss didn't want anyone letting you know about time, but maybe he wouldn't mind me taking you out to see it." He stalked towards her, and she stood her ground. He had no idea who he was dealing with.

He smugly put his face in hers. "They say freezing to death is a good way to go. Maybe you should consider telling them what they want to hear. You're running out of time, you know."

"Not quite!" she smashed her head into his, hoping to throw him off balance. Even with her strength, though, he was freaking huge! Throwing a fist into his gut, Sakura side-stepped him while aiming a hand at the back of his neck. He slumped to the ground unconscious and she took a single glimpse before running out of the room. "I've been waiting for someone to come and screw up all the security for me. Now, I'm getting the hell out of here." Pulling her hands into stance, she broke the genjutsu placed on the room, opened the door, and made it two steps before slamming straight into-

"And where do you think you're going, Sakura?"

-

-

A slight gasp slid into her mouth as she fought against the remaining feeling in her veins (that crawling sensation in her abdomen, the dullness of her body), trying to shake it off, aware of where she was, _who_ she was in front of. She groaned, oh, not this again. Not now! Sakura glanced up, hoping she wasn't showing everything on her face.

She looked up and saw his sharingan spinning, the tomoes revolving in hypnotic circles. The black and red smeared into each other in harsh lines and regret dawned on her. He had looked… into her mind…? You've got to be kidding me, she thought. Regret was quickly replaced by irritated anger. "Hell, do you have to do that? Ever heard of personal boundaries?"

"I was saving you the trouble of trying to lie," Sasuke replied quickly, using the same tone he always used when he thought something was supposed to be obvious, but she missed the flash of anger that had shot through his eyes right before she had looked up.

Sakura tried her hardest not to scrunch up her face in anger. But anger had been her easiest and safest outlet for years; it was that or loosing control.

"So, what did they want?"

She snapped her head up to his. He was observing her with cool indifference, his sharingan disengaged. "What'd you say?"

Sasuke glanced around and turned away before propping himself down next to a tree. This was going to take a while, wasn't it? "What did the Akatsuki want, Sakura?"

The way she looked lost for words caused his eyebrows to draw together; he shifted his arms and his facial expression became the epitome of boredom. "Don't tell me you've never thought about it."

Sakura frowned. Why would she have? She didn't know until two minutes ago. She covered up her muttering and said, "But you know the Akatsuki were found dead, and yes, but there's nothing they would need from me-" She froze in that thought. It couldn't possibly be-

Not bothering to fully look up, Sasuke calmly leaned his head back against the tree. He looked up at the sky. "Apparently, they're not as dead as you thought. And you've thought of something."

"I – it's not that."

"And because you said that, it is."

Looking down at the ground, Sakura frowned again and made a slight move to say something, but chose to sit down first. Was she really just going to tell him this? She stared to her right and avoided his eyes. She didn't want to look at him. "Well,… there's a jutsu I've been funded to work on. But only the Hokage and the Council know about it."

Annoyance flared up in his face and he cut in, "So it leaked, what _is it_ already?"

Sakura paused a moment before answering, "It was in chakra development. I ...ran across a Sound ninja once, and while I was fighting him, his heart failed and beat itself out of his body, probably from stress, but the heart had solidified chakra fragments in it.

"He must've been experimented on because a mutation probably caused that; but at the same time, chakra has never been truly _seen _visibly. It's more felt than anything; except some of his was solid. And that means that chakra just lies dormant in the body after a person dies, instead of evaporating into the surrounding nature like we've originally thought for years."

Sakura's eyes flitted to their corners to see if he was following. "And there's been speculation that if someone were able to interfere with another's chakra network and control it, you could heal them with their own chakra, or maybe lend chakra to another person. But if chakra really did stay in the body, then there's a number of things you could be able to do with it. Like gather up amounts of chakra, regardless of whether or not the person was alive, manipulate chakra, or-"

Sasuke's focused gaze slightly unnerved her and she resisted the temptation to fidget. "What else?"

"It's possible someone experienced could use the dormant chakra in a corpse to… revive the body, if it had been preserved? If there hadn't been any damage or severe decay to the body, maybe it could be done. It's common that most people believe that chakra is the 'spark of life' that makes our hearts beat."

His eyebrows twitched in skepticism. "You think you can revive a _dead_ person?"

Sarcasm was dripping off his words and her hands curled into fists. Sakura flushed only a moment before bristling up. "Maybe. There are forms of that jutsu already. And with controlling other's chakra, how would that come in handy?" If he was so smart, he could think of something.

Grunting in impatience, Sasuke snorted out an answer. "You're thinking of Naruto. That if the Akatsuki had that jutsu, they wouldn't even have to extract the Nine Tails; they could just manipulate both Naruto's and the Nine Tail's chakra. That way, there's no risk of the chakra doing any damage to their bodies. Any and all of it would be directed at Naruto."

Sighing shortly, she ended that part of the conversation, dreading the effects it'd have on Naruto. "Exactly. It'd come in handy anyway, but on a larger scale, that could happen."

Suddenly studying her facial expressions carefully, he asked, "What about reviving someone? Who could they want to revive?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "The dead members of the Akatsuki? But I don't think they'd go to so much trouble just to do that. And… I'm sure you noticed the man's eyes when you…"

Sasuke's stare sharpened. "Yeah?"

"We're both assuming that that was the collapsed Akatsuki hideout, so why did the man's eyes look like the Sharingan? Itachi is still in the Akatsuki; why would they mutate someone to get an imitation if they have the real thing?"

Sasuke held her questioning look, but chose not to give an answer. He knew Kabuto had specialized in copying the special traits of his victims. Could he be experimenting on Sound ninjas in an Akatsuki hideout? But why would the Akatsuki- Sasuke mentally sighed. Kabuto was the one who probably helped the Akatsuki stage their deaths. "So basically you can resurrect the dead people and control everyone's chakra?"

She leaned back on her palms and huffed. Hesitating a moment, Sakura noted, "Not _really_. Like all good things, it's only theoretical. Or useless, if you prefer."

His expression made her want to slap it off. "You mean you _can't_?"

She glared evenly and replied with a clipped tone, "_Yeah, _I mean I can't. It's unethical; I've never tried it. Again, theoretically, I know how. And this is all assuming anyone knew about it in the first place."

Casting a clearly doubtful look her way, Sasuke said matter-of-factly, "Someone leaked information, Sakura. What else could they possibly have wanted?" He stood up, gathering his sword and headed eastward.

Frowning, Sakura had the sinking suspicion that he just expected her to follow again. "Now what?" She had the strange feeling of déjà vu when he glanced over his shoulder at her and answered, "You have nothing else to do, and you're closer to finding out what you want to know with me."

So damn arrogant as always, Sasuke. Pulling herself up, she brushed herself off and adjusted her gloves. "That's not why; it's too generous for it to be your reason. So what do you _actually_ want, Sasuke?"

Sakura caught a flicker of a smirk cross his face. He made a sound similar to a laugh and spoke. "You're of use to me. You're a medic, and you can guess why that's important to me."

The hell she would. Sakura felt her blood pressure rise. "I'm sure you can find someone else, Sasuke. I'm not interested. I've never been worth your time before, so you'll be fine without me now." And if he thought that all she could do was medical techniques, he was in for a surprise. One of these days, Sakura thought, she'd kick his ass all the way to Sand. As she whirled around to walk off (walk away from _Sasuke _of all people), self-satisfaction practically leaked out of her every pore. Right until she walked straight into his chest, anyway_. _His very hard chest. So hard that she wanted to rub her nose from the impact. In other circumstances, she might've laughed at that, but she was getting a little tired of his speed. And height.

Sasuke gripped her shoulders and looked straight down at her. "You're of use now. That's what matters to me, and you can't stand here and say you've been doing anything remotely important since you've become a _missing ninja_. You're angry I'm right, _Sakura_."

She let a low growl out the back of her throat. Because he was right; she would be better off with him. "Fine," she bit out, thinking that this was all too alike to last time for her taste.

Smugness was written all over his face. "Good." And he jumped back into the heavy trees with Sakura just behind.

* * *

a/n.  
_-_the 60th reviewer gets the next chapter dedicated to them-  
SHAMELESS ADVERTISER WARNING! One shot, woo! It's called "Out of the Corner of His Eye". It's cute. Go read. -wink-

r_e__**v**_i_s_**e**d 2.07.09 (yay.)


	8. Team

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&dedicated to: **Livvy22** (for being the 60th reviewer and reviewing every chapter in a row!)

&yet again, the disclaimer is applied. i don't own naruto. ):

* * *

"Have you found her yet?" His voice echoed against the hollow walls -it sounded strained from little use. He circled around the plain room to reach the multiple bookcases lining the bare walls. He scanned the shelves with rigid posture, tense from different plans forming in his occupied mind. Long shadows filtered across the floor's length in thin stripes, bending to his movements. He plucked a bulky hardback from the shelf and swept his gaze over the figures. Contemplating her silence, he paused to wait for her answer.

Her fingers grazed the heavy fabric of her clothing as she raised a hand to her hip expectantly; a small sigh formed in the back of her throat and she lifted her head to part her lips. She replied in mild disinterest. "Not yet. She's nowhere within a fifty mile radius - she could be anywhere," came her answer, soft and wistful.

The figure chose not to answer. He slid the book back into place and returned to the steel table at the end of the room. His back hunched over and his hands methodically arranged a variety of scrolls. The near silent sound of his hands in constant movement halted as a clipped thud pounded on the rock floor. "Yes?"

Something glinted in the streams of light from the brightly lit wall lamps, and a tight voice recited, "We have a lead."

* * *

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R  
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chapter  
eight.

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March 15

Location- Waves

"Hey, Karin, do you… sense someone with Sasuke?"

The redhead snapped her head into his direction, the jerky movement stunning the muscles in her neck. She was so caught off-guard at his saying anything that she almost lost her footing as they sped through the skimpy trees. Karin clumsily questioned, "Huh? What do you mean, Juugo?"

Juugo glanced away to avoid her inquisitive look and muttered an explanation, his large hands fisting by his sides in awkwardness. "I mean, I think I sense someone with Sasuke. Do you know who it is?"

Karin harshly stopped on the next tree branch, frowning as she slightly lost her balance. The weathered wood whined under the new weight while she knelt down into a comfortable stance and let her chakra stretch throughout the area. "I don't know why there_ would_ be anyone." There better not be, she thought.

Leaning his giant sword against the trunk of the tree with a heavy _thunk_, Suigetsu laughed with his toothy grin. "You're just jealous if there is, _Karin_." He snickered as she shot a glare his way, knowing he was free from any attempted abuse as long as she was preoccupied with anything to do with _her dear Sasuke_.

"Shut it, Suigetsu." Karin retorted before concentrating on the chakra sources that filled up her mind's eye, shining in different hues and shapes until she rested on Sasuke's dark blue, massive, swirling chakra. "Found him."

Suigetsu fiddled with the cloth wraps on his sword's handle and sighed shortly. He opened a single, lazy eye and mocked, "Yeah, so? Like to drag things out much or what? Anyone with him?"

Juugo watched in only half apathy, wrinkling his eyebrows in confusion as Karin huffed, disengaged her jutsu, and looked away without bothering to answer. He felt Suigetsu's elbow make contact with the bulk of his arm, and he looked blandly at him as the sword master laughed at Karin.

"I think that means she found someone with him that she'd rather not be."

Karin whirled her head around at his mocking tone and twisted her face into a deep scowl; she sneered at Suigetsu and snapped, "Who cares what you think, stupid! I just don't feel like telling you who it is."

He gathered up his sword and threw it over his back, balancing the considerable weight with experienced efficiency. Taking a swig of water, Suigetsu glanced her way and smugly grinned at her. "Then we should start heading back now, I guess, since the whore here isn't planning on sharing any of the _dirty, naughty_ details, huh?"

"Suigetsu!" she shrieked, hauling herself up and jumping quickly to catch up with the two males. Once she fell into rhythm, Karin threw a firm hand at Suigetsu's arm, missing him by a hair as he continued through the trees, laughing at her irritation.

"Swatting flies, Karin?"

"Yeah, keep it up, and I'll swat your freaking head off!"

"Ooh, scary. I'm shaking in my boots here."

"We're almost there."

The two shared looks while they glanced at Juugo, surprised again by his unusually talkative self. Cool air rushed in between the figures and Suigetsu glanced uncharacteristically at his team before muttering an agreement. "Yeah, guess so."

The scenery raced by as the three traveled at high speeds, two of them wondering who Karin had sensed. Suigetsu could just barely make out a soft chakra source, practically swallowed by Sasuke's vast aura, only slightly glimmering in the same location as they were heading towards_._The chakra flow seemed very… slow. Controlled, even. Maybe it's another tracker? He continued trying to distinguish the chakra, but thought different when he remembered how Karin had reacted. _Oh_, probably not a tracker. Just female, and Karin's all pissy because she thinks she's got competition. Even though, she's not competition herself. He chuckled to himself at the possibility.

Wind tunneled in and out between the forms and Team Snake landed at the familiar campsite within a half an hour, all staring at the same sleeping bundle beside the fire.

* * *

That night Sakura dreamt in bright, vivid colors. They smeared together in streaks and played out throughout the whole night-

-

-

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Sakura's head lolled to the side, hanging down on her chest as she fought the nausea finally seeping out of her system. No falling asleep next time, she thought as she eyed a particularly large, circular bruise on the inside of her right arm. She flexed her stiff muscles and mentally weighed the effects of whatever had been injected into her bloodstream. Listing her symptoms to herself, she tried to stretch out as best as she could.

Stiffness, sluggish reflexes-

"Hey, why do we have to stand here?"

-blurring vision, dulled senses...

Ignoring the whispers outside the door, Sakura scrutinized the left over coloring of the murky brown poison that was lingering along her skin. It stood out against her white skin, even paler now than it was. A sleeping poison? Why would they need me asleep? she wondered. Her forehead lined with her growing thoughts.

"Oh shut up; just do what you're told." She heard a scuffle as the guard hit the other.

"Hey, come on! Lay off the abuse! And I know, but she's asleep, right? No point in guarding someone who's gonna be knocked out for hours."

"Because we're keeping watch while everyone else is erasing any traces of us being here, stupid."

"Hey, don't call me -wait, where did you hear that?"

"Doesn't matter. But I heard we're going to be moving; you know, that someone's in the area, who probably knows we're here."

Moving?! Sakura whirled her head to face the beaten door, its five feet iron re-enforcement dented in with an eerie resemblance to her own fist. Straining her hearing, she narrowed her eyes at the two men guarding her. Come on, keep talking.

"No way, Akatsuki hasn't been found out ever since the last members faked their deaths! Not even the mighty Leaf knows about this hideout."

"Well, apparently someone is enough to make the boss worry. Once they're done, we'll move this little girl out, and blow the place to smithereens."

Sakura's eyes widened as she reflexively began to toy with the chakra binds on her wrists. Blow it up? Where were they going to from here? Where ever "here" was, that is.

"Huh, then do you know why the Akatsuki's keeping this chick?"

"No one talks about it. But I think she just knows something they want to know. I keep seeing Itachi having to go in there, and you know that can't be fun. Because if she won't talk, he's the one that's got to try to go around in her mind to try to figure it out."

"What do you mean he-"

Sakura heard the guards gasp as they felt an explosion from the west side of the building; she lurched forward from the impact, the pointless metal shackles snapping apart from the force, but she wondered why the chakra binds had flickered as well…

The door slammed open in a hurry, and she briefly thought that whoever the Akatsuki had spotted must be one bad ass ninja for the all the security to slack. Sensing a familiar chakra, Sakura placed a small sleeping genjutsu on herself while distantly noting that she was being jerked up into someone's arms and carried out the door.

"Hey! Kisame! What about us?"

"You stay."

"But…you're blowing up the hideout, right?"

"Yeah, we are. And you're staying."

-

-

The sun still hid beneath the horizon; Sakura's lidded green eyes stubbornly refused to open.

_-who-…………………. -who wil-………………….. -you ch--_

_who will you choose to save?_

Morning already, huh?

It was either dread or laziness, maybe both, that kept her from getting up. A bird twittered in the trees and fish splashed around in the water, but morning wasn't as kind to her these days. She smoothed out her breathing into a rhythmic, controlled one and focused on not moving a muscle. Her mind sluggishly made its way out of unconsciousness and Sakura wasn't particularly in any hurry to start thinking… She silenced her body with a meditation and tried to clear her mind or calm herself down. Finally opening her eyes, she shifted her head to look at the remains of last night's campfire

"_Who's _she_?"_

Sakura stifled a chuckle at the red-haired woman's predictable response; she tried to ignore the nagging jealously at the back of her mind that Sasuke had chosen this _Karin _(and company) worthy enough to help him fight Itachi.

_I love you more than anything!_

It wasn't _really _that Karin was a girl that bothered Sakura. And it wasn't just the redhead. The fact that Sasuke had chosen anyone to be a part of his team was like slapping Konoha in the face. (Slapping _them_ in the face.)

She sighed and glanced in the direction the girl was in; she was lying on her back, only half-aware of her surroundings. Years of blood, sweat, and gore, _of the life of a shinobi_, _an ANBU shinobi, _had constantly reminded Sakura of the importance of never letting your guard down. Seeing your friends killed in front of you because you couldn't help them can teach you that. And there Karin was, sleeping like a genin. Why did he pick her?She shook the traitorous thought away; Sakura was no amateur with chakra and she could easily pick out Karin's chakra as a tracker's. And of course, one of Sasuke's biggest priorities is having a capable tracker to hunt down Itachi.

Moving her thoughts toward the water-based ninja to Karin's right, Sakura wondered if that certain trait was from birth or an experiment. She mocked her own thought as she guessed that the chances were that all of them had been involved with Orochimaru at some point. So it'd be more than likely that his body substance was mutated. Just take a look at the big guy; she turned to her left.

Looking at Juugo made her skin crawl. Her eyes flickered off Suigetsu and turned to the large heap in the corner of the fire. He lay in a tangle of massive limbs, but his muscles twitched and jerked in his sleep. The group had shown up while she was already sleeping (_faking _sleep, technically; the noise they made traveling was more than enough to wake her up thirty miles away), and every single one of them looked beyond surprised. Karin had thrown a fit and stormed around that a girl was joining them, and Suigetsu had somewhat smiled at her "sleeping" form before taking advantage of the moment and ragging Karin about how Sasuke was replacing her with someone better.

"_He's finally realized how worthless you are, Karin! Trading you in for a new model!"_

"_Shut UP, Suigetsu!"_

She mused on the fact that Sasuke had chosen a… colorful team. Especially colorful for someone like him.

But Juugo. Sakura had thought about him ever since she'd sensed him. Her medical instincts screamed at her every time she recognized that erratic flare in his chakra flow. It reminded her of the sparks of chakra related to curse mark transformations. He must've been experimented on for years by Orochimaru; his chemical balance was probably insanely unstable.

Sakura let out a low grunt and closed her eyes, stashing away different possible answers for a later time. Relaxing, she focused on her chakra seeping in and throughout her chakra network, instinctively checking for any abnormalities. She ceased her chakra's direction after feeling every groove and curve through the flowing energy, satisfied with the outcome. All her injuries had finally completely healed. There were no traces of any poison at all. But that also meant that she wouldn't be able to find out what the poison was.

Her hand automatically flitted toward the circular indention on the side of her neck. Sakura pondered for the millionth time what it could've come from. Run-in with a vampire? She laughed at her own thought.

Sakura groped around the various cuts on her arm and clenched her green eyes shut. The quiet wasn't her friend; it always brought up the subjects she wanted to avoid, but Konoha was as much as part of her as anything, something that wasn't ever truly out of her thoughts. What were Naruto and Kakashi-sensei are doing? Did they think she was dead? Did Tsunade-shinsou tell them that she was alive? Maybe not; what good would that do, anyway? It wasn't like she could come back: the Council would just execute her for treason... and Tsunade would rather her live no matter what. Anything was better than dying as a traitor, being remembered like that always.

Twilight still remained and Sakura shut herself off from her thoughts, letting a relieved sigh escape out of her mouth as the rays of light finally began to shoot through the scarce trees. She lifted herself up and glanced at the sparrow perched on a tree limb across from her…

A smirk ran across her lips. She optimistically thought that maybe things weren't as hopeless as Sasuke made them out to be.

* * *

The clanking and clattering of cups and silverware were unfortunately not loud enough to drown out Naruto's thoughts. He ran his thumbs over the cracks in the small white cup thoughtfully, every so often taking gulps of the bitter sake Grandma Tsunade always had. It didn't really help.

"Hey, kid."

The voice carried over the sounds of the villagers passing in front of and behind the little stall. A heavy plodding accompanied the greeting.

Naruto didn't turn his head from the scene of the restaurant in front of him; he'd already recognized the chakra some miles away. Not moving a muscle, he kept his azure blue eyes set on the half empty cup in his hand.

The body shifted next to him, and plopped into the seat beside him. "Why so down?"

"Jiraiya-sensei, I was so close; I know I was. I could feel her." Naruto's tone copied the same voice pattern he had years ago when he was still young. Jiraiya felt distinct pity and worry soaking through his previous good mood.

He studied Naruto's face out of the corner of his eye and tried his best to retain his cool behavior. "What are you talking about, Naruto?"

Naruto ruefully noted that that same mannerism had popped up again: Jiraiya had leaned back and set his hand on his thigh. It was one of the few things he did that seemed like what an old man _would _do. It was his "this is a serious conversation but I'm going to try to keep it light" pose. The sudden respectful title had been a dead give away and Jiraiya rapidly began wishing that he hadn't taken that three week long mission.

Naruto leaned forward and his taut muscles screamed in protest. He ran his hand loosely through his ruffled blond hair. "Sakura, Jiraiya. I'm talking about _Sakura_."

Jiraiya groaned in a mixture of sadness, irritation, bitterness, and compassion. "Naruto, you know-"

"Don't say it, Jiraiya!" The cups and plates crashed on top of the table as Naruto's fists collided with the old wood._ "She is alive! Alive, okay?! _She's not-she's not… _she isn't _dead. She isn't, Jiraiya-sensei. And I know it."

Jiraiya let his shoulders slump down, and he looked out the window to his left. He hesitated before even trying to say it. He knew he wasn't going to ever win this conversation, but he'd try one more time- "You need to accep-"

"No! She _is_ alive! I was on a mission, and I _felt _her chakra! I _felt_ it! And you know there's no way I'd mistake that!" Naruto's anxious eyes stared holes through him as he desperately wanted _someone _to believe him. "Why will no one believe me when I say that? Do you all _want_ her to be dead?"

Jiraiya clenched his eyes shut. There was no good way to say this, was there? "No, Naruto. But the chances of her being alive aren't the best. A lot of people who care about her very much can't afford to get their hopes up."

His knuckles gleaming white under the table, Naruto spoke with restrained anger. "Oh, they _care_ about her, huh? They _care_ about her _so much_ that they'd rather think she's dead. So that's it?"

Jiraiya tried to fight off the grim frown setting on his face while he attempted to reason with the most stubborn eighteen year-old he'd ever met. "No, it's not that. It's just that-"

"That they'd rather give up and let her die! Because she's certainly not dead now! And why did Tsunade have to send her on that mission, anyway?! It was too long a mission to send Sakura on; she shouldn't have-"

"Naruto!" Jiraiya's stern voice momentarily silencing his. "First, Sakura was over-qualified for a mission like that. And it is not Tsunade's fault, Naruto. She, more than any of us, is dealing with it hard enough. You know Sakura was like a daughter to her. She-"

"_IS. _Sakura _wasn't_ anything, so _stop _using past tense," Naruto bit out, his voice stiff and uncaring.

Jiraiya sighed before getting up, pausing to glance at Naruto, "…Naruto, please…take care of yourself. Tsunade will never be one to not let you look for Sakura, but you can't let this kill you. Just remember that things... sometimes, just happen." He threw another worried look at him as he poofed away, arriving at the Hokage Tower within seconds.

She was alive. He knew she was. Remorsefully, Naruto stared down at his hands; with a determined look in his eye, his whispered decidedly, "Not to the people who mean everything to me, Jiraiya."

"Um, N-Naruto?"

Naruto snapped his eyes up from the same cup as before, catching sight of Hinata's shiny, purple hair. She fidgeted under the street light, shifting from left to right. "Oh,…hey, Hinata."

Her face softened as she noticed the rings around his pretty blue eyes and the fatigue written all over his face. She reached a small hand out and timidly brushed a stay hair off his forehead. "Are you okay, Naruto?"

His pounding headache was curiously fading away with her cool hand on his forehead, Naruto distantly noted. He leaned into her hand. "No, not really, Hinata."

She gently rubbed his soft hair for only a second before regretfully pulling her hand away. She put her hands on the zipper of her coat to fidget again and looked away. "Do you…want to talk about it?"

He sighed out of pure tiredness; his eyes drooped and he leaned his head onto the tops of hands. "I don't think so… but..., will you sit with me for a while?"

Smiling shyly, Hinata sat in the same seat Jiraiya had only moments before occupied. "Sure."

* * *

a/n.  
hello there. i'd written this ....uh, three months ago? but i hope you all enjoyed reading. and i don't know how many reviews to expect (everybody review!), so i think i'll dedicate the next chapter to the longest reviewer. ;)

::::::yoyoyo, check out 'themes of life'. _totally. _i updated today.

and i hope this wasn't a major disappointment; i've been stalling updating. do i still _have _readers? take pity on your pitiful authoress and review.

* * *


	9. Tracker

&dedicated to: shkh4ever (for giving the longest review!)  
&special thanks to MyUsedRomance for reviewing every chapter! (I actually thought you had hit the 100 mark. :P)

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&DIS-cah-lamer is heartily applied!

* * *

Sakura popped her chin up and contemplated her target. Thirteen feet, two o' clock. And the element of surprise was in her favor. But she couldn't take many chances with so many people around the area…, four of which probably ready to stick their noses in her business -one in particular.

Her fingers twitched to motion toward it. She'd always been good with animals; she had several different summons, too. But this one seemed utterly unresponsive. It apparently didn't have any ninja bird ancestry in its veins.

Sakura fought off grimacing at it. Why was she stuck with a sparrow? Waves hardly even _has _birds, and people don't ever use sparrows as messenger birds for a reason.

It perked up. The sun's rays sparkled off the soft brown, glassy eyes of the bird as it plopped a step down the branch it occupied. It hesitated and Sakura greedily wished the bird to lift up itswings and fly to her before the sky changed its rosy, early morning glow.

The little sparrow cocked its head to the side, staring stupidly before chirping something similar to the equivalent of a yelp. Clear chakra wrapped around its leg in a spiral and Sakura cackled to herself. As gently as she could, she dragged the poor bird toward her until it sat precariously on the edge of her elbow. She pulled off a string of her shirt and pressed her thumb into it, inscribing a wind of chakra to code a thought.

Sakura hesitated to let the bird go; what if she didn't do it right? At least anyone who knew her would recognize the chakra. Maybe the bird would end up somewhere helpful.

* * *

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& r_ e __**f**_ u_ g _**e **&  
chapter nine, folks!

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March 16

Location- Waves

"Hey… heeey, Karin. Pssssst, where'd the girlie go?" Suigetsu leaned sideways off a tree branch, holding himself still with the chakra in his feet. The wood creaked in protest as he continued positioning himself in from of her. Karin ducked to outmaneuver him, but Suigetsu slid upside down, staring at her two inches in front of her face. "Oh come, don't be like that. Have you seen her?"

"I could care less ifshe _left_; why would I want to know where she's lurking around?" The redhead sneered and spun in the opposite direction, noting the empty space by the fire's ashes.

Suigetsu hopped down and landed in crouch as he loped toward Karin again. "Well, _Sasuke_ would care where she is. You know how he gets when people try to run." He fell into steady pace to keep up with Karin as she marched toward the river. The rushing of water became clearer and Suigetsu ducked under the stray limbs scratching at his face. His sword tipped over his left shoulder and carved a wedge out of the tree it hit.

"Then maybe we should tell him she ran. I'd like to see her face when Sasuke had to hunt her down."

Suigetsu huffed behind her while catching another branch sticking out in front of him. "Sorry, Karin, I don't think he brought her with him just to set her free for a good chase. Not many people _can_ give him a good chase," he murmured the end to himself.

Leaves crackled loudly under her feet as she jumped over a fallen log. Wistfully, she glanced past the thinning trees and replied, "Well, a girl can dream, can't she?" Her hand started fiddling with the strap around her shoulder, searching for a towel, and she looked over her shoulder at Suigetsu. "And I can't wash off with you tagging along, you know. Go ask Juugo."

He rolled his eyes and plopped his sword into the dense forest floor. "Juugo's in one of his moods. Hopefully, we won't run into anybody today."

"Moods?" Karin echoed; recently, Juugo had been better. What could have tipped him off? He hadn't had any problems for the last few weeks.

"And Sasuke's not around either. Although I'm sure you've already checked that out, _Karin_. No wonder he doesn't stay around us, with you stalking him all the time."

"It's not stalking."

"Sure, it isn't. Can you just find our new little friend? She can't be far."

Karin whirled around, her face hot. "Friend? Why do you care? You barely even know her name, so _stop_ asking." She stomped through the remaining trees, leaving Suigetsu to himself, bewildered.

He scratched the back of his head and blew out air, "Sheesh, touchy these days." He twisted his head around and slumped his shoulders. Dragging a foot across the moss and dirt, Suigetsu muttered and walked back to the campsite. He really wanted to find her; what did Sasuke want with her anyway?

_Zing!_

Three senbon pierced into the bark of the tree to his right. Suigetsu whipped his head around, watching from his sideways position the liquid drip off the senbon and eat into the wood. Chakra on the soles of his feet glued him horizontally to a tree and he scaled up the length to take cover. Smoke assaulted his nose and he glanced back at the tree the senbon had hit. A portion of the tree had dissolved away under the acid, crackling in satisfaction.

Running his hand over the handle, Suigetsu pulled his sword across his chest defensively. He stared through the foliage he camouflaged himself with and scanned the area. Someone with poison senbon probably wouldn't come into a fighting range, he noted.

Wimp.

A smirk pulled over his lips; well, he'd just have to chase his enemy out of his hiding place, then.

He gripped his sword to his side and crept to the trunk of the tree, sending chakra into its core and testing the ground, listening to the sounds. Bark creaked to his left, about ten trees over, whining under weight. Clutching onto the tree, Suigetsu swung around and threw a practiced aim with his sword into the cover of the trees. Little splotches of blood splattered onto the ground after his sword had made a gushing slash.

Suigetsu landed on the ground and yanked the senbon out, pocketing them as he walked to gather his sword.

"What a waste. I'm going to have to clean it now, just for that pathetic fight."

He took another step and a click resounded out of the forest, a shower of needlelike pins raining toward him. "What!" He leapt out of the way and skidded to halt, without his sword and in the open. Senbon traced his steps the whole way, sticking into the ground in a slanted line. A chakra source flared up behind him as he backed into the trees and he snapped his head around, falling into a defensive stance before trying to recognize it.

Sasuke stood on top of the tree limb, a shurikan resting comfortably in his hand. "Don't underestimate Kabuto's men, Suigetsu." He shifted his head as a gleaming kunai cut through the air, aiming at him. It whirred past his cheek and struck into the bark behind him. "Check on the camp; I'll finish this area."

"Uh, yeah, sure." Suigetsu answered, his left eyebrow popping into his hairline. He fell farther into the shades of the trees and picked up his sword from the debris on the ground. He reined in his chakra to head back to the campsite, but jerked his head over his shoulder before his feet landed on the tree ahead. "Sasuke! Check on Karin by the river while you're at it!"

Branches and trees disappeared behind him, rushing with the wind as he skidded to a stop outside the clearing. He ducked under the limb he was on and hid behind the trunk. Faintly, he could hear the soft noises of fabric rustling and the wind streaming off someone… A dim chakra pulsed behind him. And it wasn't Juugo; he was sure of that much.

Slipping a finger into the strap on his thigh, Suigetsu threw a kunai into the center of the ninja's back, waiting to hear the sound of the metal stab into flesh. He peered around the corner.

"And I here I thought I couldn't feel _any_ more welcome."

Feminine and clear, the voice was definitely unfamiliar. He hesitated to jump in the clearing until after he had his impressive-sized sword towed in hand.

Now pink is not an intimidating color. Neither is green, really. They don't convey a particularly scary persona, so Suigetsu was surprised to see his shiny silver kunai caught delicately between her alabaster fingertips. His eyes ran up the length of her gloved hand, her bare arm, all the way to a pair of bright green orbs staring straight at him. A slender, pink eyebrow arched over her perceptive eyes.

"Not Sound, if you're wondering."

He shook his head and stared, "No, uh, I knew that. Hey, you're-" Fumbling over his words, Suigetsu mumbled out an unintelligible thought and stared openly at her for the next second. Her hair had looked red in the firelight.

"Sakura?" There was that amused tone again. In the back of Suigetsu's mind, he noted that she seemed utterly unaffected by his massive blade _or_ ninja greatness.

"Yeah, so… you're gonna be with us now?" He shifted to his side and planted his hand on his hip. Still looking at her, he leaned his sword against the tree and made a slight show of leaving it.

Her mouth quirked up into a secret smile as she leant down next to the pack beside her feet. She locked the fastenings into place while tucking a hair behind her ear, "Guess so. Do you know where we're headed?"

His eyes falling to her level, Suigetsu paused at the foot protruding out of the bushes, the blood dripping off the leaves above it in silent pats against the ground. "No, not until Karin spots a trail. Hey, how many ninjas hit this spot, too?"

Sakura's eyes flickered off his, into the thick foliage, and she shrugged, making the short, spiky strands of her hair brush against her shirt in interesting angles. "Hm, a few." Her fingers never stopped making little deft movements in and out of the pockets, and Suigetsu found himself scrutinizing her easy attitude. Not many kunoichi seemed so sure of themselves. What _was_ Sasuke planning?

The soles of his shoes scratched along the dirt as he ambled toward her with exaggerated loudness. A sharp chuckled shook her frame and Sakura glanced up from the dark blue pack, corners of her mouth tipping upwards into a grin.

"I'm not going to attack you and it seems like you're not planning on attacking me, so I think we're both safe from each other."

Suigetsu cocked his head to the side and placed his hands back on his hips, "That seems like a good start." He finished the rest of the distance and plopped Indian-style beside her. A lone green eye peered at him behind pink hair as she zipped up the bag and set it away.

"What?"

"Mm, nothing. You remind me of someone."

Moving his face in front of her, Suigetsu made a point of showing off his face. He lifted his right hand and patted at his cheek. "A good someone?"

Sakura laughed lightly and poked the cheek he shoved in her face, "Yeah, I guess it's a good someone,…" She paused curiously and looked up at him, "It is Suigetsu, right?"

His sharp, canines pointing out, he grinned, "Yeah, how'd you know? Were you awake last night?"

"_Maybe_."

"You sneak-"

A heavy thud landed on the ground and Suigetsu broke off mid-sentence, turning to look at Juugo. "Whoa, that many?"

His arm bulged out and the black specks littering his skin began to fade. With a grunt, Juugo rolled the bodies he carried off his arms like dust, letting them fall down limply on their sides.

Suigetsu glanced at Sakura out of the corner of his eye, curiously watching the blank expression on her face, and motioned to Juugo. "You didn't have to bring the ninjas back, you know. I mean, we're leaving soon, so we don't have to clean the place-"

"I got hit. Maybe they have treatment with them."

"You got hit? How'd they manage that?" Leaning on his hands, Suigetsu rose to his feet, about to rummage through the ninja's sacks when a stripe of pink cut him off. He stopped short, watching Sakura slowly sit down beside Juugo's right side to look at his arm.

"May I?" Her tone was polite and efficient, soft enough to be considered courteous. She slipped her hand into her weapon's pouch and brought out a vial of cream colored liquid and dabbed it on the puncture in small, practiced circles. Her hands shimmered and glowed green as she placed them on top of his arm, fingers manipulating the poison to curl out of the wound in a steady stream. The dark venom fell to the ground and hissed as it ate away at the dirt.

Suigetsu felt the grin grow on his face. A medic, huh? Why hadn't he thought of that before? And a good one, too. But if that was the case, why hadn't Sasuke mentioned that he was picking up someone else for the team? Or maybe he hadn't planned to…?

"It left some burns on the inside of your arms, although I'm sure you can tell. Do you want me to try to heal some of it for you?" Suigetsu watched her pull away her hands, looking up Juugo's still massive arm to his face.

"If you'd like." His voice was gruffer from the pain than it normally was, reverberating from deep inside his chest. He looked at her face while she continued working on his arm, and glanced back at Suigetsu.

Winking, Suigetsu nodded at Juugo's silent question. _Yeah, that's her._

Behind him, leaves crackled as a tree swayed. Suigetsu peered over his shoulder at Sasuke and Karin, both equally drenched. The former with an impressively sulky countenance and the latter with a pleased blush on her face. "What took you two so long?"

Sasuke's eyes studied the area, noting the bodies and the scratches on the trees, before landing on something straight ahead. Suigetsu traced his eyes back and turned around to look at Juugo and Sakura. Her hands still emitted a steady green glow, gradually moving down the skin right above Juugo's wrist. Hearing Karin snort from behind him, Suigetsu turned around and wiggled his eyebrows at her, then turned back to see Sakura pulling her hands away from Juugo.

Sakura picked up the vial and tucked it back into the strap around her thigh. Angling her face over her shoulder, she returned Sasuke's observing look. "You'll get sick," she stated offhandedly before standing up to reach for her bag. She slung it over her back with ease and left her hands on the straps.

Sasuke grunted before leaping down from the limb and muttering a word under his breath, condensing and heating the air around him to evaporate the water off his clothes. He plucked a senbon off the tree and flicked it to Sakura. "What poison?"

She caught it between her fingers and reached behind her, placing it in the side pocket. "Ardente venom." She folded her arms. Sasuke's chest heaved up in silent groan and he glared at her, one eyebrow raised over the other. She elaborated, "Morte ardente: the burning death. It comes from a rare snake that mainly lives in marshes. A normal dosage takes nearly an hour to kill; it burns away the lining of the veins and puts the heart into arrest."

"Aa." Settling his hand on the hilt of his sword, Sasuke turned halfway around and looked at the other three. "We're going to Rain from here. Get your stuff." The middle finger and forefinger of his left hand rose in front of his torso and then he was gone, leaving a wisp of smoke in his stead.

Sakura grumbled to herself and turned to Suigetsu. "Where's he going?"

He answered with his back to her, tugging the strap of his bag around his neck. "Who knows? Maybe checking on something back in the village. He'll show up again when he's done."

"Is he always so… elsewhere?" Suigetsu looked at her for a moment and a laugh found its way out of his throat. He tossed his sword over his shoulder. "No. But I think he's going to start avoiding us even more now."

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura countered, her eyes narrowed in a way that he couldn't quite describe. Bright viridian slits glared at him.

"Probably exactly what you think it means, Sakura. I would ask you how you know him, but I get the feeling that you wouldn't tell me right now anyway, huh?"

"No. Probably not."

"Then I guess we better get going." Suigetsu reached into the bag now strapped to his back and threw an extra towel to Karin. "So, who did you sense in Rain?"

Catching the towel, Karin ran it over her arms and legs. "The real thing this time. Mostly Kisame, but Itachi's been poking around some of the Rain villages. It doesn't follow his normal pattern; it loops around the area like he was scouting." She flipped her hair upside down and rubbed it dry with the towel, flipping it back with a satisfied look still on her face.

Suigetsu groaned. "You looked happy -oh no, don't _tell_ me you got him to walk in on you bathing."

"Like I could help it. That's just how it happened." Trying to hide her smile, she shot a patronizing glare at him and turned around, wringing her shirt of the extra water.

He folded his arms over his chest. "Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think anything just happens around you, Karin."

"Hey -"

"Why _Sasuke_?"

Karin snapped her head to Sakura, a sneer already forming on her mouth. "What's it to you?"

Suigetsu watched as Sakura's mouth dropped into a frown. "Nothing. But unless I'm assuming too much, he probably doesn't give a damn. So why don't you give up?"

Suigetsu took the liberty of answering. "Because she's obsessed."

A wet towel slapped into his head. "I am not _obsessed_. And Sasuke does too care; he adores me."

"Uh huh, he definitely looked _adoring_ when he came in standing beside _you_." He flung the towel off his head and started folding it. "And thanks for soaking my towel, Karin. Now it's going to be all moldy when I need it." He glared pointedly.

She waved it off with her hand, "Yeah, whatever, Suigetsu."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes and fished inside his pockets, pulling out the senbon he took with him earlier. "So, Sakura. How do you know so much about the poison?" He pinched the needles in between his fingers and lifted them up for her to see.

Shoving a shoulder into the tree behind her, Sakura sighed and looked away. "I've just heard of it."

He raised his eyebrows in amusement, "But aren't there like a million and two poisons in the world? But I guess it's not fair that I asked you such a generic question; my real question is when you got hit with one." Her pink hair fell in a soft pile against the wood as she leaned back; a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"What makes you think that?"

"The circular scars on the inside of your arm." He motioned his head toward the black specks that dotted her right forearm. "No wonder you were so nice to the big guy. Personal experience?" Juugo grunted from his spot on the ground at being called "the big guy".

She made a sound out of the back of her throat and closed her eyes, "How very observant. I don't think people give you credit, Suigetsu."

Karin snorted.

Rolling his head to the side, Suigetsu wrinkled his nose at her. "You're just jealous you're not as awesome as me."

"You wish. And you're not awesome."

"Whatever." He looked back at Sakura. "Then you've been running into Sound ninjas recently?"

"Sound?" Sakura's bright green eyes lazily popped open, watching him in interest.

"Well, yeah," he paused, blinking at her, "Sound's been using it _every_ chance they get. For the past few months, I don't think I've fought a single one that hasn't had a weapon pouch full of it."

"Hm." Her gaze shifted from his eyes to right above his shoulder. Suigetsu watched her as her eyes glazed over in thought and she took her lip between her teeth, chewing over it habitually.

"Thinking of something?"

She blinked her eyes, shaking her head lightly, "Yeah. So… are we leaving soon?"

"Yeah, soon. Why don't you check on Juugo's arm again and then I guess we'll leave. Sasuke should show up soon, too," Suigetsu said, kicking dirt over the long dead fire and smudging his heels through the ashes. He saw Sakura push off the tree and sit next to Juugo, briefly hearing her ask how the burning was. Juugo's arm still took up a fourth the space his body did and Karin was mumbling curses to herself as she yanked at the zippers on her bag.

Rolling his eyes, Suigetsu smacked the dust off his shoes and wondered if maybe Sasuke didn't talk to anyone because of the company he's been around.

* * *

a/n.  
why hello there, my good people! it's been nearly two months, i know, but i hope you enjoyed the chapter?

and special thanks to all the reviews! (yay!) the next chapter shall be dedicated to the mighty 100th reviewer! :D now go and tell me how horrible i am for being so slow!

drop a review, please? xD


	10. Voyage

&dedicated to: ohwhatsherface for being the 100th reviewer! thank you very much for the review and for reading my little unworthy-of-you story. :D click on the author button, and then in my favorites to look at her profile!

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&major disclaimer applied here, folks. I'm still just a fan. :)

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R. E. F. U. G. E.  
ohmylanta, she made it to ten.

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thank you for reading,  
everybody.

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March 16

Location- Waves

Sakura crouched behind the trunk of a tree, low against the forest floor. Damp moss stuck to her hands and knees. She pressed her forefinger into the dirt, fusing a trail of the earth with her chakra, and felt for the chakra marks of the others. Sasuke's she could faintly tell where he had been maybe twenty seconds ago, while the rest she could pinpoint them to various spots fifteen yards away. She felt uncomfortable not being able to sense someone. It's been years since she'd felt like that; a little… dizzy from the hazy sensations she picked up from Sasuke's movements.

Her ears picked up to the trademark hum of a senbon. Leaning her head back, the needle pierced into the bark right in front of her nose and hissed with poison. A dim chakra point ten yards away twitched when the senbon shot toward her and Sakura drew in a deep breath. She gripped onto a limb as quietly as she could, and rebounded off the trees in an arc toward the ninja's blind spot. Sasuke's chakra signature stirred to the left when she started moving and she frowned. When did he get so sensitive to chakra?

An arm bent out of the camouflage of the leaves and Sakura slipped her throwing hand into the pouch strapped to her thigh. Without her gloves, wood splintered into her hand when she flung herself toward the Sound ninja and threw a kunai into his jugular, a clean cut slicing into the skin of his neck. Blood splattered on her arms. Momentum pulled her forward and another ninja jumped overhead; light from the sun glinted against the shower of senbon.

Sakura rolled her eyes and skidded to a halt, facing the ninja with a curse on her mouth. "Haven't learned any new tricks?" The spikes left a slimy trail of dark purple liquid burrowing into the ground.

The ninja fell back in a defensive stance, nine feet across from her. A white mask covered his face and more senbon lay in between his knuckles. He didn't hesitate to dash to her right, his arm curling backwards to aim at a vital. Sakura fought the sigh in her throat: men were usually stronger ninjas, but _so _predictable.

He leaned closer to the right and she dropped to her hands and kicked his shins. The Sound ninja sucked in a breath as the bone cracked. He crumpled to the floor with his body weighing down his legs. Glancing around the clearing, Sakura flipped the man onto his side, pulled out a kunai, and swiftly split his neck open. Blood seeped down his clothes and she ran her hands over his chest searching for the pockets under his cloak. After a minute, Sakura leaned back on her heels. None of the Sound ninja carried any antidotes for the poison they all seemed so readily stocked with. Who was mass-producing such a rare poison? And why weren't they making the negation for it?

Suigetsu called her name through the trees and she hauled herself up. She loped into the tops of the trees and followed the sound.

"Took you a while." Karin sat with her legs crossed, perched on top of a tree limb. White wraps around her arm covered the smell of dried blood.

Glancing at Suigetsu and Juugo, Sakura raised her eyebrow. "Sasuke?"

Suigetsu ducked his head, motioning behind her. "Right there."

Sakura's eye twitched. She glimpsed over her shoulder and sure enough, there he was. How did they get used to it? If she could hardly sense him, could they? If Naruto could sneak up on her all the time, Sakura wondered if she would hang around him that much.

"Come on, we can't stop for another few hours." Sasuke, standing at his full height, glanced behind him and jumped higher into the trees. Juugo was the first to move, his huge body curiously moving as fast as the rest of them. Suigetsu and Karin followed and Sakura stood still for a half of a second. Did she really want to do this? Would Sasuke look for her if she just didn't come? Grunting, Sakura rolled her eyes and stared at the direction they left in. That was a yes, and when he found her, she was pretty certain she would really not like it then. And what kind of match would it be if they ever fought? Shaking her head, Sakura gathered chakra into her legs and made up the seconds she stalled.

Wind hit her face hard and she struggled not to blink against the rush of the cool air. Pumping more chakra into her feet, she made up the distance and fell into place behind Juugo, Karin behind her. Traveling with them made her feel one of those embarrassing moments of sentimental memories. If she wasn't looking at everyone, it almost felt like old times.

Minus Sasuke. But that made it worse. Things were so close to normal, just mixed up. She caught Sasuke's eye as he briefly tilted his head behind him.

Had he even spoken in the past few hours? No, she didn't think so. She could probably count the number of words he'd said to her. Sakura grumbled and closed her eyes. They'd keep up with this for three more hours at least. Grey melted into greener scenes and she focused on building chakra reserves the whole way.

_Who could they want to revive?_

She bit down on her lip and blood swelled under her teeth. Only a handful of people could still be alive in the Akatsuki, one being Itachi who was, as far as Sasuke knew, very much alive. ANBU never found Pein's body, even though he was supposed to have been blown to bits when Naruto fought him. Snorting, Sakura figured she might as well count him alive; that rumor didn't fly with Tsunade when she first heard it.

Then Kisame. Maybe the one girl. But the rest were _supposed _to be dead.

Lines knitted on her forehead. Were they looking for a way to resurrect someone? It was ridiculous in the first place, and not something the Akatsuki would ever have considered before. When she had mentioned it to Tsunade and the Council as a basis for funding a study in chakra behavior, the proposal wasn't ever supporting the jutsu. The odds that taking someone else's chakra to use was so unexplored that there was no way to say if it would work. Or that the person would live after trying. Chakra has such destructive properties it'd be suicide to try it.

Then again, it all depends how desperate someone might be.

What if she were able to talk to Tsunade about it? No, Sakura pursed her lips together and frowned. She wouldn't be able to get into the village without having to kill the guards. Which was a definite no.

What about sending summons; could that work? Tsunade would listen. Because if Akatsuki was up and running all of the sudden, the first place to be attacked would be Sand or Leaf.

Plus, Sound ninjas were lurking around. How were there so many of them? And if someone was organizing Sound again, why are they parading around with their headbands and shouting it to the world? Or maybe being inconspicuous had gone out of style.

Maybe she could try sending another messenger bird when they arrived at a village. Maybe. Somehow she doubted Sasuke would give her much of a chance. Maybe he knew. Then again, if Itachi _was_ in the area, he would be preoccupied. Or mad as hell if she screwed things up for him.

Glancing up at Sasuke's back, Sakura wrinkled her eyebrows. Nobody ever let anything be easy nowadays.

* * *

Melting snow crunched under her feet as Ino stepped into the even cooler halls of the Hokage Tower. The wood gleamed its normal rich sandy color and guards stood every so often at different turns in the building.

"Hey, is Tsunade here?" she asked one of the guards two halls down from her office. She got a nod and continued up the stairs circling around to the center dome. Muttering to herself, Ino flicked her blonde hair out of the way and marched up to the double doors, giving two polite knocks.

Tsunade's voice echoed from behind the thick wood. "Come in, Ino."

The door shut lightly as Ino rounded the edge and she walked in front of Tsunade with an exaggerated bow. "My, I felt _so_ important when I got personally summoned on my specially given _off-day_, Lady Tsunade. What ever can I do for you?" She threw in a wink, but really. On her very rare off-day?

Tsunade folded her hands, lacing her fingers together to hide a smile. "Yes, well, I'm sorry about that. I just need you to tell Naruto when he comes back from his mission with Shikamaru to report here as soon as he can, alright?"

"Sure," Ino paused, tucking a thick lock behind her ear, "but if you don't mind my asking, is something wrong?"

Tsunade's eyes lazily closed shut, and she murmured a sound out of the back of her throat. She chuckled and peered back at Ino, honey olive eyes strangely calculating. "No, actually. Just a very delicate situation that I have to take care of."

Ino raised her eyebrows expectantly. "A _delicate _situation that you need… _Naruto _for?"

"I'm not sure if it's going to develop into anything. I just need him to pick up something from a border guard that's being delivered from Sand. I've been told what Gaara thinks it is, but…"

Tsunade fell silent and Ino hesitated over her words. "Of course, I don't mind." She wanted to ask what it was; the look on Tsunade's face was secretive at the very least. What could it be? "I guess that they should be back soon. I'll make sure to tell him, Lady Tsunade."

"Yes, thank you."

* * *

"So we're really going all the way to Rain."

Suigetsu turned around and grinned at Sakura. He fell behind Juugo a step so he wouldn't have to yell. "Looks like it. Are you not a big traveler?" She tried not to roll her eyes; it was a nice thought to move back, but with no one else talking, the point of having a private conversation was slightly moot under the circumstances.

"No, the distance doesn't bother me. It just takes a while: first a boat, then Sound, Waterfall, and Grass just to get there, all of which including stray ninjas, canyons, and hidden villages. Excuse my lack of excitement."

Suigetsu lifted up his eyebrows. "You know your way around, huh?"

Sakura tried to cover up her grimace. This was not a desired topic. If you could call it luck, she'd been lucky Sasuke hadn't asked her much of anything. But counting on Sasuke's silence isn't luck, it's proven fact. "I've just been there before. And who's to say if we'll get there in time? We might as well go all the way to Sea or Earth if we're going to be traveling a continent."

He shrugged his shoulders, a feat for someone balancing a large sword on their back. "Small inconveniences. Doesn't bother Sasuke a bit. Ain't that right, Sasuke?!" He yelled the end, finishing it with an obnoxious laugh. Sakura thought she could feel a glare in their direction.

The trees thinned out abruptly and there they were. The Great Naruto Bridge: the only escape off this island. The harbor and its workers bustled along, busy with luggage and crates and nets. Saltwater was a pleasant change of air, Sakura thought, taking in a great big whiff of the tangy smell.

Peering to the side, she murmured to Juugo. "How is it?"

His eyes slid over his shoulder shyly; he stared at her curiously and dully nodded his head, muttering a "It's fine…thank you," in reference to his arm. The last part was cut off as Sasuke motioned them down to the loading area.

This was something Sakura had always wondered about. How do missing ninjas get around with their faces all over the bingo book? She didn't have much trouble traveling, since as far as anyone else knew, she was dead. But you'd think a missing ninja would get reported every time he turned around. But maybe since there were so many missing ninjas out there, that's why none of the workers even spared them a second glance. She supposed it'd be bad for business if the workers turned everyone in.

Civilians, on the other hand, are a different matter entirely.

The creaky old wood floors scraped and groaned as they made their way to their room. The ship rocked gently, pulling to the sides with the waves, leaving a turning feeling in Sakura's stomach. And she had been in many boats that sank. Like a dead fish. And this one was _old_. Eye twitching, she thought the boat wasn't inspiring a lot of confidence. Plus, all the civilians boarding on the ship were shooting cautious, worried glances their way every time they thought no one was looking.

Sakura sighed. If civilians thought ninjas were so tough, why did they think that ninjas couldn't tell when someone was staring?

A workman rounded the corner with three thick crates piled on top of each other in his arms and nearly dropped it all when he almost ran into Sasuke. He let out a surprised yelp, nervously glanced at the sword resting on Sasuke's hip, and scampered off, forgetting an apology completely.

"What good impressions you all make. Are you always so warmly welcomed everywhere you go?" Sakura dryly noted, leaning against the wall as Sasuke pushed the door open, its hinges squeaking. Karin must've glared at her for the tenth time today before she disappeared into the doorway.

Sakura let a grunt slip out of her mouth while she stepped toward the door. An old woman shuffling down the hall muttering to herself, two kids running the next hall down… Thoughtfully, she wondered if having so many people around would come in handy for her.

She stepped into the room and shut the door behind her softly. Throwing her bag into the corner, she sat cross-legged on one of the bottom bunks. The room had one circular window and a single bunk bed. A door was across from her and Sakura figured Sasuke had gotten two or three rooms. Suigetsu's voice echoed through the doorframe, and Karin swung open that door, coming back from the next room and calling over her shoulder, "How long will it take to get Fire's border?"

"Three days. We're docking just short of Lightning Country," Sasuke replied, voice flat and bored. Sakura raised an eyebrow. He speaks. A whole nine words. The door left a slit open and she could see Sasuke's black shirt and the back of his head looking out of the window, right hand set on his sword. The horizon was a dusty shade of red, the sun close to setting.

Suigetsu came lumbering back into the room with a grin on his face. "Who's bunking with whom!?"

Sakura let out an uncomfortable groan. Anyone but Karin. She'd wake up with Karin moaning Sasuke's name.

"Sakura stays with me."

Sakura oddly couldn't manage a thought, much less manage being surprised.

Suigetsu sounded a disgruntled moan. He turned around. "Way to take the sane person, Sasuke. I vote for the empty room!"

"And leave me with Juugo? I don't think so."

"Please, Karin. You know how to take care of him and I'm definitely not staying with _you_."

"What's that supposed to mean, jackass! I don't want to stay with you, either!"

"Duh, stupid, you just want to stay with Sasuke so you can try to rape him during the night."

Karin's face flared up red and she took in a sharp, shaking breath. Sakura grimaced and clenched her eyes shut -they were going to start fighting _again_- before Sasuke's voice interrupted.

"I don't care what you do. Sleep in the hallway, just shut up about it." His footsteps padded out of the room and Sakura heard the click of the door shutting.

"See what you did! Now he's mad!"

"What, _me_? Not my fault."

Karin made some other remark and Sakura slid off the bed, tip toeing into the next room with her bag. Juugo sat in the corner with his elbow propped up on his knee, looking up at the ceiling.

"Are they always like this?" Sakura whispered, a grin tugging her mouth upwards.

His eyelids lifted up and a quick sound shook his chest. He reminded Sakura of Sasuke when he was young. His arm had returned to normal size, but black markings still remained around his collarbone. She ducked under the wood post into the bottom bed. Curse mark? It didn't look the same. Was it an early variation of it? The poison obviously had altered its effects and prolonged its use. She heard Juugo getting up and Karin and Suigetsu still bickering in the other room; leaning back, she laid her wrist over her eyes and thought about kicking off her shoes.

Then she woke up in the dark, the bed creaking above her, still wearing shoes. Sasuke's foot, or what she assumed was Sasuke's foot, pulled over the top of the bed and the mattress sunk down on her head. Sakura blinked her eyes, adjusting them to the dark. "Sasuke?"

She got a grunt in return. Glancing out the window at the black sky, she wrinkled her forehead. "What time is it?" The sun was setting when she lay down.

An unremarkable sigh. "Eleven."

"Eleven? What could _you_possibly have done for so long? There's nothing but the deck on this thing," Sakura replied, looking up at the bottom of the mattress skeptically.

"You've been on this same ship before?"

Hm. Sasuke was slightly quicker than she remembered. "Yeah. It travels both ways."

"Yeah. You took it from Rain."

Wryly, Sakura said, "I bet you feel smart."

"You knew the way well. And if you came here by this boat, then you must've have circled all the way around Konoha's borders."

The bed squeaked as she lay back down, the pillow lumpy and flat under her head. "Yeah."

She heard his foot slide up, could see his movements through the mattress. After so many years of not seeing him, the strangeness of talking to him wasn't as distinct as Sakura would've originally thought. She could hear the air entering and exiting his mouth, the soft sound of his breathing as he paused what he was about to say. Her mouth quirked up, "What?" Stalling wasn't something he was familiar with. Last she could remember, anyway.

"Why were you so close to Konoha if you're a missing ninja? You're practically at its border."

Sasuke's voice was deeper than she remembered, too. Sleepily, she closed her eyes, "It doesn't matter too badly. As long as I stay out of Fire, I should be fine. No one's looking for me. Legally, I'm dead. I actually don't know if you knew that."

"No, I didn't."

Wiping a hand across her forehead, Sakura turned her head to side, staring at the specks and patterns on the wall blankly. Sleep still made her thoughts hazy. "Yeah. Still have to be careful, though. I was put in the bingo book as a missing ninja before that."

He surprised her when she heard his voice again. "Where did you go since then?"

Sakura licked her lips and sighed. Thinking back, she had stopped at nearly every village on the north border of Fire. Some that she'd never even been to because of the distance. Just to go. It wasn't like she didn't have the time. "Mhm, Nagi and Taro Island. I was in Kumo for a while. Then went to Waves."

"Why?" his voice a low whisper.

"I don't know. It just seemed like I should visit." And that was true. Mostly.

"I don't think you could say it paid off."

"Most things don't pay off. But all the same, I found out a few things." The building. She'd seen it just yesterday. The cement blocks were almost crushed into powder. Sakura frowned. Not many things could do that. She could, though. …Did she? Is that possible?

"How does Rain fit in?"

She pulled her eyes back up to the where Sasuke's voice came from. Her heart beat steadily, echoing in her ears. But the more she thought about it, there wasn't particularly any reason not to tell him.

"Well, because I woke up in Rain."

Sakura pulled her arm behind her head, listening to his breathing, the silence as he thought about it. Why did he want to know? Did he think it had something to with the Sound ninjas or Itachi? "And you think you were in Waves before that."

Not a question. Only a statement. Some things never do change, Sakura thought. "Yeah."

Sasuke didn't say anything and as she was about to roll to her side, she heard a familiar "Aa," rumbling out of his chest. Some things really never do change.

* * *

a/n.  
You know, I'm surprised I made it to chapter ten. Originally, I thought this would be a really short story. So I'm trying to figure out how many more chapters are left (it's not a _whole_ lot), and I'm going to finish this before summer is over! Laziness is being set aside -because I actually almost put this on _hiatus _once. /:

[this was app. four thousand words.] a rrrreview, please?


	11. Sound

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&the standard disclaimer is rightfully applied.

* * *

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R

E

F

U

G

E

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_chapter xi_

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* * *

March 19

Location- Sound

The ship rocked, swayed, creaked, and groaned the whole way there. If there were ever a time when Sakura could get sea sick, it was on that godforsaken boat. But she had been better off than Karin, who couldn't eat anything for the three days they were on the boat. Sakura had just hidden out in a corner in the hull as close to the front as possible; around the foremast sometimes, but the sailors kept moving her out of the way.

"Hey, Sakura, ahoy! Land ho!" Suigetsu called from along the side of the ship, waving a hand over his head to catch her attention.

She threw off the smelly, gray wool blanket one of the sailors lent her onto a wooden crate and marched up to the deck. The chipped railings didn't help the journey upwards much, though. Waves crashed against all the ship's sides, sending it back and forth, back and forth. It was like none of the ocean wanted to carry the rickety piece of dry rotted wood either. To think anyone would ride this thing, Sakura wondered.

Gripping the end of the railing, she climbed the last stair and jogged to the side where Suigetsu was, with the help of the boat's swaying. He sat on the ledge and she traced his arm all the way to his finger, pointing off to the speck of green on the horizon.

"Finally," she couldn't help but mutter under her breath.

Suigetsu's chest shook as he laughed. He caught her eyes with a sideways grin and winked. "But I think Karin beats you, as far as wanting to get on land."

Sakura judged the distance of the blue waves. "Yeah, I'd think so."

Another half an hour and they docked in Sound. Children scuttled around the cramped hallways, sailors loaded up their arms with luggage and barrels and nets, and it was all but too easy to get off unnoticed. People were growing more and more unobservant every day; it was a wonder how anyone got caught.

Sakura eyed the docking area with distaste. Water splashed around her ankles as she wandered behind Juugo. Before, she would've thought that most anywhere, people looked at her. Blending in with a crowd was one of the hardest things she had to do as a ninja. That's why she was _always _the one to distract a crowd. With bright pink hair, if she made the effort to be loud, she could attention easier than anyone.

Suigetsu loitered around casually, his massive sword hanging behind his back. Sasuke was still clearly armed. And not so much as one lousy glance was spared in their direction.

Looking over his shoulder, Juugo interrupted her thought. His low murmur was hard to hear over the crowd. "Looking for someone?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. It's just I've always wondered how ninjas in the bingo book travel with so many people around. But I think you'd have to parade with a banner and a trumpet to get someone's attention here."

Juugo slowed his pace down to walk beside her. His stride was still twice as long as hers. A small grin edged the corners of his lips up as he looked down to answer, "As big of a deal the bingo book is to the ninja villages, people in general –especially civilians- just don't care. If you mind your own business, they don't consider you a threat. They don't notice enough to usually even see us."

Her eyebrows rose and Juugo shifted his eyes away from hers. Quietly, he continued with, "And you know, some of the leaders in the villages are paid off. Not to report certain people, or sometimes any of the visitors at all."

The edge of the docking lot was drawing closer and Sakura leaned in her head. "But –but why would anyone accept the money? It could endanger the villagers, not to mention lead to political disputes. They could start a war with that kind of thing, depending on the consequences. Why risk all that just for money?"

He laughed at himself, a low, sharp chuckle that she couldn't hear well over the noise. His bright, yellow eyes look downwards at the top of her pink head without some of the shyness that was normal. "Not everyone is as honest as you are, Sakura. Not everyone puts little thought into money."

Sakura shook her head. "But that would mean the records for the ships, the visitors, the papers –all of it's wrong. What if a war were to break out, no one could track the ones wandering in and out of countries."

"Why would lying politicians care about honesty, Sakura?"

"Yeah, but…" Trailing off, Sakura look ahead, gravel crunching loudly under her heels. They were somewhere in the middle of the crowd going into… into town. "Hey, are we… are we staying in town tonight?" Three full days of traveling left them at sundown already. There probably wouldn't be any rooms left; civilians wouldn't travel the night.

Karin snorted in front of her. "If room is what you're concerned about, what innkeeper turns away a group of ninjas?"

Sakura let her eyebrows rise at that.

* * *

Dusty gray rain clouds covered the waxing moon, hanging low into the city. Sakura sat on the ledge of the window sill and looked out into the street. Cramped inns crowded the sides of the road; sheets hung out of the windows and random lights shone out of the rooms.

Their own light was turned off. One room with five people left little space to occupy –Suigetsu was sprawled out on the single bed, while Karin lay on the bed as far away from Suigetsu as possible. Juugo was a heap on the faded, worn chair in the corner; and Sasuke casually sat against the wall, his sword in between his legs and lying against his chest.

With a small sigh, Sakura leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The air was strangely hot from the confined quarters, stuffy and humid. She brought her other leg up to rest on the window sill and let her head fall against the window pane. It was well past midnight and most of the lights had all been turned off by now. Her eyes watched the lengthening shadows; she looked up as one bent and curved to the right.

Ninjas. They lined the tops of the building while they crept overhead. Several of them, and without any headbands glinting in the light. One by one, each jumped over the series of inns and disappeared from view.

A frown pulled on her mouth as sleep found its way to her. Sound wasn't a ninja country anymore, not since they lost their leader. Since when did they have enough for an army?

* * *

Six hours later, Sakura woke up from the tapping of the rain on the window. Water drops running down the glass blurred the image of the streets, and the rain clouds were low across the ground. A few lights were on in the inn opposite from them, shining blearily in the downpour.

The cold rain had half-frozen her cheek and Sakura pulled away from the window to sit against the wall on the carpet. She could hear Suigetsu snoring lightly. Karin and Juugo were still asleep, but as Sakura leaned up from the corner, she noticed the empty spot by the door. Sasuke had taken his sword, too, apparently. Pushing with the heels of her hands, she stood up and rounded the bed to the door. She hesitated as she held her hand above the doorknob.

Shaking her head, Sakura opened the door slowly, listening for the hinges to creak, and leaned out the doorway. She got about half her body outside the room when Sasuke turned around the corner, padding silently down the halls. Looking fairly drenched, Sakura noted as she listened to the rain pour on the roof of the building.

He stopped the breadth of a hair in front of her, water dripping off his bangs and onto the floor. A fine, dark eyebrow rose as he looked at her and shifted her inside with his left hand. Sasuke slid around the door after her and closed it, dropping a bag to the floor and muttering under his breath the same jutsu from before to dry off.

"Sneaking off, are we?" Sakura whispered, eyeing the bag on the floor. Her eyes traced his movements as Sasuke leant down to pick it back up. He straightened and thrust it into her arms.

"Hardly. It's yours."

She hummed in a response while gingerly opening the bag. Sasuke stood leaning on the cabinet with his arms folded across his chest, watching her rifle through the bag and pull out jars and tapes.

"You bought me medical supplies."

Sakura stood staring at the different contents of the bag; vials, herbs, even an ointment for burns, too.

"I think that's obvious, Sakura," his voice dry with sarcasm and boredom, but soft in comparison to the rain.

She threw a look at him and continued sorting until she pulled out an herb. "Yes, Sasuke. But _you _bought me medical supplies." Sakura paused and slipped the medical tape into her right pocket. "You also bought me exactly what's in the anti-venom I used on Juugo. How do you know so much about medicine, Sasuke?"

The gray light from the sunrise slanted into the room and she couldn't help but think Sasuke looked like a ghost in the dim lighting as he stood there silent. His sharp, angular features hadn't changed; neither had his posture, Sakura thought, looking at his hands firmly stuffed into his pockets.

He didn't answer and she restarted, "Kabuto's making the poison, isn't he?"

Sasuke looked up from the floor and raised his head. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know, how else would you know what to buy?" Briefly, Sakura wondered if he knew quite a lot from being around Kabuto for so long.

The rain picked up and muffled his words as he said, "But that doesn't mean he's _making _them, just that he might have made it before. He's supposed to be dead, remember."

Sakura laughed and glanced down at the jar in her hand, fingering the white seal. "Lots of people are supposed to be dead; that doesn't mean they are. And replicating a poison –a good one- is difficult. I don't think just anyone could. And what medic ninja would have the same exposure to poisonous snakes as he does?"

She licked her lips and look back at Sasuke, adding in low murmur, "Besides, I bet you know very well if he's alive or not."

The corner of Sasuke's lip curved upwards as he didn't answer. Pushing off the wall, he shrugged. "I'm only concerned about one person being alive or not, Sakura."

"But what will you do when your only concern is over?" His eyes took on a different expression, one she couldn't quite name, but just… guarded. "What matters then?"

She watched the dark hair of his bangs fall on the side of his face as he titled his head. His voice was flat, sardonic. "Don't tell me to go back to Konoha, Sakura."

Her eyebrows pulled together, wrinkling her forehead. "That's not what I said."

"That's what you were getting at."

Anger put a spike into her heartbeat. Her mouth fell into a thin line and she sighed. "No, it wasn't. In case you've forgotten, Sasuke, I can't even go back to Konoha right now." She set the plastic bag onto the nightstand and glared at the door. "But just because you don't want to think about it doesn't mean you won't have to make a decision eventually."

Hesitantly, she looked away from the door and shrugged. "I know what you're doing _now_; what will you do _later_?"

Sasuke planted his hands behind him on the cabinet and frowned. "And what are you going to do when it's over, Sakura?"

Sakura snapped her head back toward his and blinked. Of course he was just being sarcastic, but he was really asking her. And the more she thought about it, she didn't have an answer. What was left? "…I don't know."

"It's not so easy, is it?" Sasuke kept his eyes on her face, studying her expression while she looked away.

Pursing her lips, Sakura figured he might have felt like that before, at least once. She stared at the floor and began answering his question slowly; what would be the first thing to do? "Well," she paused, and then fought the strange smile on her face, "I think I should stop being legally dead, for starters."

Sasuke angled his gaze back to hers in silence. "Then maybe I'll try to break whatever amnesia jutsu I have. So I can remember what happened. Then… then, who knows?" Sakura bit the inside of her lip and averted her eyes back to Sasuke. "Nothing's ever set in stone… Maybe under the right circumstances, the Council would let a missing ninja come back. You never know."

His look was doubtful, but he didn't say anything as he moved across the room and woke the others up.

* * *

a/n.  
This one's shorter (only 25 hundred w.), but I wanted to end there, so it didn't turn out as long; it's really only a transition kind of chapter, anyway (plus, I needed another scene with Sasuke and Sakura. :P). But I'll be updating again within a week; it'll be much longer, too. And this is a rough estimate because I'm not sure if things will go quite that quickly, but I'm thinking only three chapters are left. Depending how I write it, maybe five. I'm not sure yet.

_review, lovely reviewers_! :D and thanks to all the reviews I have gotten for the story; I very much appreciate it.


	12. Waterfall

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&the [standard disclaimer] is rightfully [applied].

* * *

-

r. e. f. u. g. e.

-

chapter xii.

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* * *

March 20

Location- Rain

Three trees made a deafening crack as they collided with each other, and Sakura cringed. Tearing up a tree was reflex when she didn't have time to reposition herself to dodge. But with ten ninjas within fifteen feet, alerting every one of them where she was, wasn't such a good idea. One ninja jumped out of the trees above her; she parried his kunai with her own and threw him off her before the next one showed.

Sasuke's chakra spiked next to her and she felt his hand land on her hip. He pushed her to the side as four ninjas jumped into the clearing, and disappeared in his speed. The slash of his sword echoed in the trees while Sakura found herself with another three ninjas. She clenched her teeth when a kunai cut into her side, and sent her fist into the ground. The ground broke up into craters and fissures, and the ninjas went sprawling into the tree line. Resting her hand over her side, Sakura sent chakra pulsing through her hand and into the wound.

The stinging eased and then stopped. Taking her hand away, she heard a loud slap against wood. Feeling for any more ninjas, she found Suigetsu's in the same area the sound came from. Karin and Juugo were both south of her and Sasuke…

Was right above her. Looking up, Sakura glared at him. "I _hate _when you do that." He leapt down and paused in front of her, staring at the jagged hole in the ground. "And you leave unnecessary trails. If anyone ever tracked us, it wouldn't be too hard for them," he commented, absently taking in the scratches while carefully scanning for weapons that might be theirs.

Sakura grunted in response. Sasuke's eyes slid back to her, looking at the slice through her shirt.

"All done!" Suigetsu dropped into the clearing, followed by Karin and Juugo. He threw his sword over his back and motioned to Sasuke's still unsheathed sword. Blood dripped off its blade into the grass. "What, are we not done yet? That must've been at least fifty back there."

"Well, there's…" Karin paused and glanced at Sasuke. Setting her hands on her hips, she said, "There's a possibility we might be getting a visitor."

Juugo let his head fall back and peered into the sky, murmuring, "Tell us what you mean, Karin."

"Kisame and another Akatsuki member are heading in our direction." Sasuke cut in, abrupt and concise. "They have been for a day or two, but Karin wasn't certain they were coming for us. Now the distance is too close to think they aren't here for a reason."

Suigetsu leaned back on his heels and clicked his tongue. "What could they want with us?" He shifted the sword on his back again.

"Just be ready for anything." Sasuke turned around to start traveling toward Waterfall's border, glancing at Sakura pointedly.

_What could they want with us?_

Staring after Sasuke's back, she thought, who knows? They weren't even supposed to be alive.

* * *

Deep green carpeted the denseness of Waterfall's forests. Branches disappearing behind her, Sakura remembered she'd read once that there were twenty seven shades of green in Waterfall. From what she'd seen, that was probably about right. And it was also much darker in the forests than she remembered; the trees choked off any light and left the woods a murky shade of night constantly.

Sakura jumped onto the next branch as they ran, noting the strange, spongy feeling of moss under her fingertips. The rhythmic beating against the tree limbs was a droning monotony as always, and Sakura thought about the most boring times of her life; all that came to mind was right now. To her right, Suigetsu didn't look particularly bored and Juugo looked the same in any situation. She smiled at that, and glanced behind her at Karin, who maintained the same peculiar expression since Sound. Neither Kisame or anyone, for that matter, had come across them. Turning back around, Sakura figured Sasuke had ordered her to keep a close watch.

Why were those two trailing them? Karin said she couldn't tell who was with Kisame, which was odd. And Kisame hadn't decided to approach them yet. They must be waiting for something, Sakura thought. And that was never a good thing: it meant something was happening.

The scenery blurred into itself indefinitely, green streaking together in a hazy image. They were only about half way there to Rain, and they had a long way to go. Was Kisame… waiting for a day or a certain destination? Logically, Sakura supposed it was likely it could be a trap to go to Rain. If it were a trap though, it would've been better played if Kisame hadn't alerted them by following them at a fairly close distance for days. So that didn't make sense.

Sakura stared in front of her, and she looked at Sasuke. He obviously would have already thought about this. And come to think of it, Sakura wondered why exactly they hadn't seen _anyone_. Not a single Sound ninja for miles. She stared at the trees, marred by various gashes. Sound ninjas had been here before, though; there were gaps and hollows in the trunks from the poison. Shaking her head, Sakura thought if they weren't here, then were they-

"We'll stop here," Sasuke announced, his voice muffled and distorted by the wind. He dropped onto a lower branch and landed on the forest floor. Peering down, Sakura raised her eyebrows. It was a _thick _forest. Plant life covered the majority of the ground in a solid sheet. As she landed, the ground made the most unfamiliar sticking sound from the clumps of moss and algae; she looked at Sasuke with an amused smile inching onto her mouth.

Suigetsu poked at the built up vegetation with a sour expression on his face. "How in the world do they make fires here?!" He bent down to poke at it with his forefinger. "It's like… a life of its own!"

Karin threw her bag next to a tree and turned around to sneer at him. "It's a _forest_. With plants. It does have a life of its own, nimrod." She plopped down onto a log and closed her eyes, hands forming her tracking technique.

Sticking his tongue out at her while she couldn't notice, Suigetsu countered, "But it's weird! It's clumpy and gross; how do we move it? Or can you even build a fire on it?"

"It's not a big deal if we don't have fire," Juugo noted, sleepily leaning against the massive trunk of the tree behind him. Sakura smiled, watching his eyelids droop closed; and his arm had successfully returned back to normal without any permanent damage, she thought with satisfaction.

"It is _too_ a big deal! What can we eat without fire?! I am not eating moss!" Suigetsu, still yelling, gaped at Juugo's large form hunched in the shadows. "How can he say it doesn't matter?" he asked, looking at Sakura.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura assured, "You can build fires anywhere, Suigetsu. It just takes more work here because the moss is so wet. We'll have to have a lot more firewood than normal, though." She set her bag next to her feet and sat beside it. It was colder here from the lack of sun; they would need a fire.

Suigetsu rolled up on the back of his heels. "Well, I'm getting the firewood," he called over his shoulder before hopping out of the clearing.

Stretching out her legs in front of her, Sakura rubbed some circulation into them, erasing the tingling feeling from running so long. She yawned into the back of her hand. "So, food or water, Sasuke?"

He stared at her over his knees from where he sat across from her, and stood up. Karin was still perched on the same log, and Juugo seemed like he was asleep. "I'll get food." Sakura stopped rubbing her leg and titled her head toward his. "Are you tired?"

Strangely, he did look tired. Then again, the lighting had long shadows drawn over his face. Sasuke paused for a moment and headed into the trees without answering. Staring after him, Sakura noticed she hadn't ever thought he might be tired before. He didn't seen like the type to ever be caught sleeping.

He probably was tired, though. She reached into her bag and drew out some bottles, and headed to the last river she saw. Looking up at the forest canopy, she realized that she had thought it was dark _before_; it'll be pitch black at night. She had forgotten how dark it gets in Waterfall.

She kept retracing her steps until she heard rushing water. Walking in that direction, Sakura pulled through some of the scratching limbs to get to a creek hidden by a thick barrier of trees. The water looked black because of the darkness; but that was how all of the woods were.

Sakura lay on her back an hour later, watching the fire's shadows dance on the trees. One side of her positively burned next to the fire, but the other felt like ice. She sighed. It was going to be a long night. Flipping onto her side, Sakura shook her hair out of her face. It fell in a pile behind her head, much longer than she liked it. She fingered the pink strands and knew she couldn't cut it herself without it looking horrific.

Suigetsu's snores cut through her original train of thought, and she glanced over at him, looking comfortable as always. Next to him was Karin, who had been quieter recently; it probably took most of her chakra to be watching someone for days over a distance. Juugo hadn't moved, and Sasuke was sleeping a few feet from her. One hand on his chest, the other behind his head, he was laying flat on his back, mouth parted in peaceful breaths.

For a moment, she smiled. Then wistful regret and the old pain of being left so easily returned to their normal places, in the foreground of her mind with a biting edge of reality. Naruto popped into her mind, and she wondered if their promise might just have to go unfulfilled. His bushy, blond hair and whiskered cheeks –she remembered what he looked like perfectly… How was Naruto? she thought to herself. Raising her eyes back to Sasuke, Sakura sighed and shook her head. If she were to have to stay a missing ninja, would she have to travel alone, always running, forever? What would Sasuke do when Itachi was dead; he couldn't possibly want that.

* * *

Ino perched on the edge of one of the benches outside the Gate. What a _slow _day, was all she could think. Five more minutes of waiting and she slumped into the stone bench, irritably frowning at the birds overhead. Folding her arms, she tapped her fingers and glared at the red posts.

They were almost an hour late! An hour!

And she was the one who just _had _to wait for them. Just because Lady Hokage decided to be an Indian giver with her day off. Ino groaned and slid farther back. Of all the days. And what could Shikamaru and Naruto be doing? Oh, if he's lazing around somewhere sleeping, I'll kill him! Ino fumed.

And with another five minutes gone by, there was still no sign of them. She sighed and propped one of her legs up on the bench, looping her arms around it. Laying her head back, she stared at the sky restlessly, then moved upright and stared into the trees. There weren't even civilians to stare at; no one was ever in this area but during holidays. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against her knee. A gust of wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves and branches.

The wind died down. The cherry blossoms would be blooming soon, Ino thought…

"Hey, Ino!" She snapped her head up and looked at the Gate. Naruto's spiky blond head of hair bobbed up and down as he waved his hand in the air. Shikamaru was next to him, looking lackluster in every respect.

Standing up, Ino smoothed out her clothes and flipped her heavy ponytail behind her back. Naruto was the first to meet her. "Why are you waiting for us, Ino?"

Shikamaru trailed behind him, hands stuffed into his pockets. "You assume she's waiting for us."

"Oh, you're probably just waiting for _Shikamaru_, right, Ino?" Naruto grinned, enjoying Shikamaru's "Shut up" and waltzing away with his hands locked behind his head.

Ino rolled her eyes. "You're so full of it. And get back here, Naruto. I'm here for Tsunade." He turned around with a boyish grin on his face. "Another mission?!" Shikamaru groaned and sat down on the bench, closing his eyes. "Troublesome."

"Well, something like that," Ino paused, sitting down next to Shikamaru herself. "She said it was _delicate _situation, which to me means anyone but Naruto should get the job."

"Hey!"

Snickering, Ino continued, "Anyway, I think it's just a package or something that needs to be picked up from Sand. From Gaara, specifically, I think." She crossed her legs and leaned back.

"A package _or something_?" Naruto visibly drooped. With a sigh, he noted, "That does not sound very important or time consuming."

Ino managed a small smile, half tingling with the knowledge he was just avoiding being in Konoha. "Well, she wanted you particularly to do it. So don't feel so bad." Comforting Naruto wasn't one of her habits, but it was hard not to when he hated having nothing to do –being alone and having nothing to do. Obviously, it got him thinking too much.

Naruto shrugged. "Well… It is Sand. I haven't been there in a while."

Shikamaru shifted his head toward Naruto; he couldn't actually be…? "You've been traveling a lot recently, Naruto. What for?"

Again, Naruto shrugged, commenting, "It's just something to do. You know, visiting old friends you haven't seen in a while."

"I know you don't think she's dead, Naruto," Shikamaru said, watching Naruto meet his eyes for a split second before he looked away. "But you can't kill yourself looking for her. I know that's what you're doing."

Ino went silent. Glancing at Naruto, she thought he did look… tired, sometimes. "Yeah, you're not looking so hot," she tried to joke, wanting to change subjects and fill the silence.

Naruto, being Naruto, of course took the lead and let out a laugh, however awkward and small it might have been. He scratched the back of his head. "Please. I always look good, Ino. You know that." He gave a half-hearted wink.

Ino laughed lightly and rolled her eyes. Shikamaru moved next to her, asking, "So, that's all Tsunade said?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. That's all she said." Ino looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

Shrugging, Shikamaru laid his head back and stared at the clouds. "Just because she's been giving _a lot _of missions recently. I went into her office before I got the last mission, and her desk was even more cluttered than it usually is."

"Well, Shizune's been covering at the hospital because they've been constantly understaffed. So Tsunade doesn't really have anybody to help her with it, and she hates paperwork," Ino noted, watching as Naruto suddenly looked back at the Gate, a determined frown tensing his face.

Shikamaru elaborated, "The paperwork's from the recent surge of all the ninjas on duty. She's been getting a lot done." He stopped and looked away from the clouds, tilting his head sideways toward Naruto. "I think the Council wants to name a new Hokage soon. I think that's why Tsunade's been doing so much -finishing every project that she's wanted to do since she first became Hokage."

"But –but who would they appoint?!" Ino tried to lower her voice. "You have to be at least a certain age, and Tsunade doesn't have any direct… offspring," she finished lamely, omitting that Tsunade didn't have any… any _alive _students that were fit to be candidates.

"You're thinking a little too morally, Ino." Shikamaru glanced at Naruto as he said, "The only reason the Council could want another Hokage is because they're more displeased with the rules than usual. The only way to remedy that would be to have one of their own become Hokage."

Ino shrieked, "One of those old bats?!" She looked at Naruto when there wasn't any echo of what she said and frowned. He stared at the cobblestones.

Shikamaru lifted his head off the back of the bench and leaned forwards on his knees. "Hey, Naruto." He waited until Naruto looked up at him. "Maybe you should go check on Tsunade. I'm sure she's got some things to tell you before she makes you leave again," he added with a lazy smile.

Naruto, more or less, chuckled. "Yeah… I guess I'll see you guys later. Tell Hinata I said hi; I meant to see her when I got back."

Ino beamed at that. "Will do." And throw in some flowers with that "hi" too, she thought, mentally wondering what Hinata's favorite flower might be. She watched Naruto wave goodbye and jump off into the direction of the Hokage Tower. Shikamaru sighed beside her and she turned to sit towards him. "What, Shika?"

"It's… hard to ever doubt Naruto, but it's hard to believe him, too." He looked over at Ino. "He said he was in Waves and felt her chakra, a little under a month ago."

Ino gave a tentative smile and looked down at her hands folded on her lap. "Well, it's hard not to think about it. Everyone needs help at the hospital and Tsunade's always busy." Sobering, Ino sighed and turned to Shikamaru. "The trees are going to bloom soon."

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a/n.  
i was so excited when i finished this chapter. because i couldn't use the computer for a few days. anyway, there it is! i hope you enjoyed it. :D (& for anyone who maybe got confused by the end, she's just saying that the sakura trees are going to bloom soon.)

and ohmygoodness, i did update by the end of the week. *is proud she held true to her word* and i even looked at some of the older chapters, found some phrasing and wording and a little bit of format i didn't like, and fiddled with it. maybe when i finish this, i'll revise "refuge" one last time so it can finally rest in peace on my profile page. so i can look at it and know i'm totally satisfied with how it came out.

anyhow, a penny for your thoughts?


	13. Grass

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&the boring and unfortunate [standard] [disclaimer] [is] rightfully [applied]. D: darn.

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March 21

Location- Waterfall

The deep green of the forest was black when night fell; Sakura dreamt that night with a shuddering sense of finality.

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Gray smeared everything she looked at. Clink. Clink. Clink. The metal chains clanked together as she swung her feet forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards. Her boots made a dull thud against the cement wall and scraped across the floor. Sakura flinched a little when the seaweed stuck to her toes. She looked down to shake it off just as a yell echoed from above, bouncing off the walls and carrying throughout the building. Guttural, pained, desperate- the yell made Sakura cringe. The sound of something heavy falling, then another voice followed before everything was silent again.

Sighing, she scrunched up her face and stared at the room. The palm of her hand started to itch and she tried to maneuver her fingers around the shiny, new manacles to scratch it. The metal clinked against the wall again, and Sakura started up swinging her feet. Laying her head back, she stared at the ceiling and focused on the steady sounds… The chipped blocks of the wall were rough against the calloused pads of her fingers. The cuffs on her wrists burned against raw flesh and she glared at the opposite wall. But there was nothing. As blank as a new canvas, she couldn't remember anything. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to think back, but it was a fuzzy feeling that blocked everything out that was before yesterday. Like a radio crackling and fizzing, off and disconnect.

She opened her eyes. There was a muffle from the other side of the wall. "Can y-…stop that?" Sakura turned her head to the side, nearly flat against the cold surface of the cement wall. The scar across her cheekbone bled onto the white, pasty surface. Someone was in the next room?, she thought. "Hey, who are you?" Curiosity peeked through the bars of pain and boredom. There was a pause, where it was so quiet that she could barely hear anything but her own breathing. Was she imagining things, too?

The voice replied, distinctly male and warbled through the barrier, "What does it matter?"

What did it matter? Sakura thought it mattered very much. "Why not tell me? It's not like you have anything better to do." Her voice croaked at the end and she realized for the first time how very, very thirsty she was.

"It really doesn't matter."

She thought she felt someone move outside the door and she lowered her voice. "Then you haven't been here long to have that attitude," she noted. The days blurred together with nothing to separate them, no sunrise or sunset, and there was just nothing. Nothing to do, to think, to mark as important. How long _had_ she been here? She couldn't think past yesterday. Had it been weeks, months… or more than that? It was cold; maybe it was winter already?

"Or maybe I've just been here _that_ long to have this attitude."

Sakura grunted. "But if you were here that long, we should have had this conversation before now. How long have you been in that room?" She couldn't remember anyone being moved. But it didn't matter; she didn't have to remember everything to get out of here.

Was that a sigh? "A while."

The walls were thick, but Sakura could hear his movements as he fiddled with the chains on his ankles. Looking forward, she leaned her head back again, flinching as the back of her head burned from the impact. A very small smile inched onto her lips as she said, "So what are you in for?"

"I'd hardly say this is like prison." His voice was deep, a little lazy. He reminded her of Shikamaru.

Shifting to the right, Sakura stretched out her left arm and it made a loud pop. Everywhere hurt, she thought. Although she hadn't woken up with any new wounds. Did that mean something different was being tried on her? ...Amnesia and mind jutsus? "I know, it's kind of part of being a ninja. But just answer the question."

"I guess for the same reason we're all here," he paused; he clicked his tongue and continued, "We all are or have something that they wa-"

Another scream fell through the floors. Sakura closed her eyes and let her chakra stretch throughout the building. It was hard to tell; barriers were put up to prevent that. Faintly, she could pinpoint a gathering of chakra signatures three levels above her, down the hall and to the right. Only... one or two people were below them. What was happening? Glancing up at the chains, Sakura turned her head. "Hey, can you get out of your binds?"

She heard him mumble something and move around, then, "Yeah, I can." Bracing her hands together, she ripped through the bars on her hands and yanked her feet out of theirs. She held her hands together and broke off the genjutsu before she slipped out of the door. Her hands felt like they were on fire. The door beside her opened and someone lumbered into the hall. He was scrawny and tall. And shaggy, was all she could think. She wondered why she hadn't heard his binds break. "What do you mean what 'they' want?"

He stared at her and nodded up at the floors above them. "The Akatsuki. You couldn't tell with the barriers. Check for yourself if you don't believe me."

A string of voices filtered down to where they were and she realized that she recognized some of them. Shaking her head, she answered, "No, I believe you." It made sense. Then this was also one of their hideouts. No wonder there was so much blood on the walls. She remembered the ones streaking across the floor in the room, the ones that were the size of her hands.

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

"Just keep going down." She looked down the hall. She wanted to find her stuff, but that might not be able to happen. Because she certainly didn't have any weapons or very much clothing. The man beside her was hesitating, and she made a half-motion to push him away from her. "Get out of here or this building's gonna fall on you."

He had brown eyes -that was last thing she thought. "Fine. Don't get caught." Then he made some hand seal she'd never seen before, and looked at her again, saying, "There's no point in remembering everything, so don't try, alright?" before he disappeared. Sakura grunted, acutely aware of what she looked like; the blood was starting to itch. She ran down the left hallway towards the stairs, the floor echoing her slight steps. Chakra signatures began to move above her. She jumped down the flight of stairs and went through a doorway. There was one more level to go. Right as she thought that, she felt three guards in front of the next stairs and the ones above swiftly making their way down. Sakura turned the corner and cringed as a senbon landed squarely on her leg. The blood seeped through her black cloak, warm and wet against her skin. The muscle twitched violently under the silver needle. Poison. She jumped up and swore under her breath, just as her fist collided with flesh and rock, a quake running through the building as it tore itself apart.

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"Sakura!" Dimly, she registered hands on her shoulders. "Hey, sleepyhead! Come on, wake up!" Sakura made a half-hearted attempt to slap the hands away and leaned up with her hands, groaning at the headache pounding behind her eyes and in her temples. "You got a headache?!" the speaker said, much too loudly to be considerate. She grunted. "Yes, Suigetsu. So stop yelling."

She heard him chuckle and move away from her, and she laid a hand over her eyes, wiping the sleep away. Squinting, Sakura looked upwards at the sky; the sun was nearly at seven. Purples and blacks spotted her vision from the headache and she reached for her bag. She set it in her lap and rummaged for something that would help.

"I'm not used to you _not_ being awake. You're always awake." Suigetsu sat next to a tree, his sword lying beside him.

She normally didn't have dreams like that, either. Shrugging her shoulders, Sakura opened her mouth to reply and a yawn cut her off. She heard Suigetsu laugh a little. Trying again, she said, "Just one of those days, I guess." Moving her legs in front of her, Sakura crossed them and glanced down at the thick moss on the forest floor. It groaned under her weight and she shook her head. "I think I'm about ready to leave Waterfall."

"Then it's your lucky day!" said Suigetsu, smiling with his sharp teeth. "We'll be traveling you know, the usual. Twenty-five hours each day so we can camp in a damp forest. Sasuke takes great care of us." The last part Suigetsu added just as Sasuke walked past him. Sakura laughed a little at that, earning a curious glance from Sasuke before he leaned over the fire, holding a line of fish.

Sakura got the feeling he _almost _didn't say anything. "Well, I brought you food, didn't I, Suigetsu?" His tone lacked just some of his normal apathy. Sakura closed her eyes as he talked; he was much quieter then Suigetsu. His voice was deep and… She chuckled to herself. He'd be offended if she said his voice was _soft_, of all things.

Suigetsu sniffed the air appreciatively and laughed in response, "Only because I bothered you about it!"

"I still brought it." A typical Sasuke rebuttal. Sakura rolled her eyes and looked back into her bag. Rifling through all the jars, she finally found the little bottle full of capsules and she popped one pill into her mouth. It left a pasty taste in her mouth, but the pounding obediently quieted.

Across from her, Suigetsu jumped up from his spot and started walking to the fire (toward the food). While he moved past her, he leaned down and whispered, hand cupped to his face. "You know, it's weird with Karin being so quiet. No one's fussing at me or anything."

She looked over to the side of the camp; Karin had regained her spot on the same log and sat with her hands on her lap, still forming the same seal. Sakura grinned and batted him away toward the food. "Why, do you miss it?"

Rolling his eyes, Suigetsu sauntered off with a "Puh-lease" and dropped down beside Sasuke. Sakura zipped her bag shut and thought she heard Suigetsu say her name. Looking up, she saw Sasuke staring at Suigetsu with a weird expression on his face. He turned his head toward the fire and poked at it one more time. His back was to her, so she thought she saw his shoulders shrug. As an answer?

Suigetsu looked somewhat disappointed. What were they talking about? Sakura frowned at Sasuke's back, watching the rigid muscles move under his black shirt as he crouched forward. The smell of fish wafted through the air and Juugo dropped into the clearing.

Sasuke moved the fish out of the fire and sat back. "We'll eat and then we're heading to Grass. We'll be there a few hours after nightfall."

Suigetsu looked up from his fish, food hanging out of his mouth, and frowned. "Are we still being tailed?" he asked, wolfing down the rest of the fish. Juugo lumbered up from behind him and plopped down, his weight sinking the thick greenery on the floor. Gingerly, he took a fish and replied, "Karin hasn't said any different."

Suigetsu shrugged. "I guess…" he paused, "it's just weird that they haven't you know, done anything."

"We'll see what happens," Sasuke said. Sakura looked down and shook her head; it was just like him to say something like that. Every time Suigetsu obviously wanted an answer, Sasuke replied with the same "be ready for anything" attitude.

She looked up when she heard him call Karin's name and motion toward the food. Stiff, Karin slid off the log and walked to the fire. She was limping. Sakura stared at her leg and wondered if chakra exhaustion took its toll on certain parts of the body before others. But then wouldn't it-

"Sakura."

"Hm?" She looked up from her hands. Rolling his eyes at her, Sasuke dipped his head toward the fire. "Eat." The commands were actually easier to deal with now. Even if he did manage to always sound exasperated.

Sakura murmured to herself, "Oh" and lightly shook her head. "Yeah, in a sec." She opened her bag again and did a check of everything she had. Was she just being paranoid? But she felt… weird. Maybe it was only the dream she had.

"Do you feel okay?" She looked up again and smiled at Juugo. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." He looked away quickly, hiding his face from her. For someone so big, Sakura thought, he sure didn't take advantage of his size. Throwing her bag off her lap, she stood up and leaned over the fire, picking out a medium sized fish. She plucked a leaf off one of the trees and set the fish in it. She was in the motion of sitting down in between Juugo and Sasuke when Suigetsu asked, "Nothing, Karin?"

Sakura could barely see her across the fire. Her hair blended in with the flames. "No. Still the same."

Looking over at Sasuke, Sakura wondered what he was thinking. What if Kisame and the other ninja were to show up if and when they found Itachi? That would complicate things, at the very least. Sasuke shifted his head to meet her eyes and she lifted an eyebrow when he kept staring; what? He shook his head and looked away.

* * *

"An inn! Finally!" Karin fell onto one of the lobby's sofas. She was almost likable when she was tired, Sakura mused. Most of the time when people were in pain, they were mean. She'd certainly seen a lot of people while they were in pain. But for Karin, she just didn't have any energy to bother anyone. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut; she almost felt bad for thinking that when she knew how tired Karin must be. Being a tracker was no joke. _Almost _felt bad, anyway.

The innkeeper threw the keys to Sasuke. Curiously, Karin sprang up from the sofa and eyed him, nearly purring, "I could stay in your room." Sakura wrinkled her nose and shared a look with Suigetsu.

"Ah, get over it, Karin." Suigetsu wiped his hand down his face. "You were doing so good, too! No slutty comments for almost three days!"

Karin's face turned red. She snapped her head towards his. "Oh just shut up, Suigetsu!"

"Well, it's not like he _wants _you in his room-"

"So we can go now?" Sakura set her hand on her hip, fingering the edges of her red shirt, and glanced around the lobby. Cheap paintings, fairly new wallpaper, pretty clean in general, though. This was probably one of the nicer inns they'd stayed at. Her eyes landed on Sasuke. Originally, she would've thought he was one to buy from the more expensive inns.

Sasuke nodded and started walking down the hallway to the right. He stopped short and opened one of the first doors. Their room was also one of the larger ones, with a total of five beds. Leaning against the doorframe, Sakura studied the door to the bathroom. Karin was next to Sasuke, probably wondering which bed he was going to take, and Suigetsu had already collapsed on the soft covering of the first bed he found. Juugo lingered in the corner, setting his stuff down. Sliding into the room, Sakura slipped into what she assumed was the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Spacious, clean, and housing a bath tub –it was just what she was looking for.

She plugged the drain and delicately turned on the tap. Water came rushing out of the nozzle and she winced at its loudness. Oh, well. Everyone else was doing something, anyway. Sakura pulled the zipper down on her shirt and shrugged out of the clothing, letting it fall on the floor. She toed out of her boots and pulled down her skirt and shorts, pausing in front of the mirror. Maybe it was the lighting, but she felt like she looked… maybe skinnier? Or just… different. Looking down, Sakura turned off the tap and eased into the tub.

She wrapped her arms around her legs and set her chin on her knees. Closing her eyes, she listened to the tap, tap, tap of the dripping faucet and the sounds outside the door. Sasuke's thunderous chakra signature pulsed throughout the room. They'd done a lot of traveling, all the way to Grass Country. He _was _tired; he wasn't even bothering to mask any of his chakra. The dark circles around his eyes were getting more noticeable.

Opening her eyes, Sakura stared at the water rippling in front of her. It was kind of comforting, to be able to feel someone so easily. To someone else, he might seem like a murderer, which was what they all were, but… Of course things are always different when the one everyone was scared of wasn't your enemy. Sakura's mouth fell into a frown and she plunged her head under the water. But how long would that last? What would happen when he didn't need her anymore? (She frowned again. Why did she care?)

When she tip-toed out of the bathroom ten minutes later, she realized how very dark it had been when they stopped. She glanced at the clock and it was 1:15. Looking around the room, Sakura tried to find an empty bed. On the other side of the room was Sasuke, next to the wall, and then Juugo and Karin. So she moved to the fourth bed and slipped under the covers. Suigetsu shifted around in his bed to her left.

"Hey, Sakura?"

She turned her head and fought the closing of her eyes, whispering, "What?"

"… I've been wanting to ask you… and uh, what are you going to do when we're done?" Suigetsu looked away from the ceiling to her. Sakura smiled unsteadily at the question and shrugged. It wasn't something she had the answer to. Instead, she stared at him and asked, "Are you wondering what you're going to do, too?"

He rolled his head back towards the ceiling. "I guess so." It was weird to hear him speak seriously about something. Then he added, "The only reason I came with Sasuke was because I didn't have anything else to do."

That was the reason most everyone in this room was here. "Well… I've learned not to plan ahead too much. A lot of things can happen." What an understatement.

"Yeah," Suigetsu sighed, his voice as soft as she'd ever heard him. He looked back at her with a little excitement in his eyes. "But you know we'll be in Rain tomorrow. Well, today." She raised her eyebrows and he continued with, "I just feel like something big is gonna happen. Like it's the calm before the storm."

Sakura rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. The calm before the storm?

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a/n.  
(this one took me about a week more than the last. i didn't know how i wanted it to come off.) and only like two/three chapters left! and (hopefully) there'll be more fluffy whatnot in the next chapter, for those of you who are sure to ask. :P but i can promise no one will be randomly making out. this is supposed to be in-character, after all. anyway, thank you to everyone who read. and review! it's near the end, so you might as well, right? :D

_hope you enjoyed_. i'm gonna get my butt in gear to finish this soon. yep. plus, i've got a lot of stuff to include in the next chapter...


	14. Kisame

&dedicated to: i'm-a-wallflower (for reviewing every chapter in a row! thank you. :D)

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&for the fourteenth time, law suits, I do _not _own Naruto. so consider the DISCLAIMER well APPLIED.

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March 22

Location- Grass

Sakura's eyes shot open and she sat up in her bed. Blinking, she shook her head and ran her hand through her hair, ruffling the tangled locks out.

"Nightmare?"

She looked up at Sasuke. He sat by the door, a vaguely curious expression on his face and an opened bag lying on his lap. Sakura shook her head, dazed. "No." Her dream was all mashed-up sequences of things that had happened, things that were happening, and things that might happen. Like so many of her dreams, it was bright and blurred, and she was mute the whole time. She could scream as hard as she could, and no one would hear.

"Hn." Sasuke eyed her and glanced back at the bag. Sakura's eyebrows lifted, and sliding to the edge of the bed, she peered over the end to look at what he had. Newspapers, bingo books, posters, magazines –they all stacked on top of each other in a messy collaboration of patterns and words and colors. Haphazardly, the binds of paper were in a messy circle around him.

"Sasuke-kun," she started, examining the covers and titles of the reading material. "What are you looking for?"

Sasuke leafed through another pamphlet at his right. She stared at the back of his head, the black hair spiking up at odd angles from sleep, and tried again. "Has something happened?" And she slid out of her bed, noting the cold air drifting in from outside. Discreetly, Sakura glanced down at her bare legs and grabbed her skirt out of her bag, buckling the fabric over her shorts as she plopped down in front of him.

Sasuke sent a half-hearted glare at her for being a distraction, eyes lingering on her before he looked back at the small mountain of news. He sighed softly and explained, "A lot of complaints about Sound ninjas. But none since several days ago."

Nodding, Sakura covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a yawn. "Since it's unlikely they've all been killed off, they must be gathered somewhere, right?" She took her hand away and tucked a lock of pink hair behind her ear.

Looking up at her, Sasuke hummed an affirmative before he went back to work. She crossed her legs and made herself comfortable where she was. (She thought she heard a grunt of disapproval from Sasuke, and she smiled.) Patting her hair, Sakura straightened the unruly strands and then smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes. Glancing up, she raked her eyes over Sasuke's face and found what she was looking for. He couldn't have slept very long. "How long have you been up?"

She sort of knew it was a pointless question. Sakura had figured she would only get silence and a distracted shrug. Which she got. But shouldn't he be resting? They were getting closer and closer to where Karin had sensed Itachi. But he didn't seem to be worried about that. He knew something, Sakura reflected, conspiracy leaking into her thoughts. "Does Karin know that Itachi isn't in the area?" Almost looking startled, Sasuke focused his burning gaze on her and held her eyes. In the back of her mind, she thought she felt very exposed and vulnerable when he looked at her like that. He was so careful when he examined something; he never missed anything.

Looking back down, Sasuke didn't answer. He flipped another page before he sat the book in his hands down. That was a yes, she concluded. Was he _surprised_ that she guessed? Sakura held back an indignant huff: just because she didn't have the Sharingan, that didn't mean she was blind. Cautiously, she slid a glance at him as he hunched over his work. Why was he looking through all this?

"Sound ninjas have been sighted everywhere but Konoha."

She pulled her eyes up to his face. The determined set of his jaw, the hardness in his eyes, the sharp planes of his face -what was he planning? "You think maybe Sound... wants to attack Konoha?" Why else would they avoid Konoha, not want them to know the extent of their army? Or that they were alive at all? A surprise attack? …But why? Her eyebrows scrunched together and her lips fell into a frown. "What could Sound want?" she mused out loud, turning her head to stare out the window.

"That doesn't matter so much as _when,_" Sasuke answered, leaning backwards on his hands as he watched her. Sakura resisted the urge to fidget when she felt his eyes land on her face, but when she looked back and caught his eyes, she found she very much liked the way he was looking at her. (Promptly, she shoved that thought away. Even if she knew being stared at was better than being ignored.) His curious, speculating eyes lightly stayed on hers and she wondered what he was thinking. Opening her mouth, Sakura ventured, "So... what next?"

Light filtered through the window; the sun was rising above the horizon. A ray of light spread out on Sasuke's shoulder, fanning over his chest. He motioned toward the stack of books and said, "There was a report of a loud explosion some months ago. Later, villagers from Rain found a building in shambles a few miles into the border."

Sakura fought the grimace creeping onto her face and she closed her eyes. "Another deserted building?" She grunted and opened her eyes. "Do we have to?"

Maybe she was imagining the faint amusement lingering behind his stare. "Yeah, we have to."

* * *

Hours later, Sakura wandered down the rows of herbs. Sasuke had stopped at the next village and told her to get what she needed. He had walked off in the general direction of the bandages, Karin close behind. Jugo had stayed with her by default, remaining where he was even when she walked down another aisle. Suigetsu, on the other hand, tagged along rather exuberantly.

"What'cha looking for?" His smile was big and toothy, and she nearly imagined whiskers on his cheeks. Sakura looked over her shoulder and offered a smile. "Ah, just a couple herbs and maybe some more wraps," she answered, crouching down to eye a particular gathering of plants. Mentally sorting through its uses, she gingerly picked out the amount she wanted and placed it in a bag. Tsunade's voice was the one in her head, reciting the proper amount she needed to make an effective antidote.

"What were you and Sasuke talking about this morning?" Suigetsu bellowed in her ear. With a start, Sakura shot a glare at him and stood up. His look was almost apologetic; he threw his hand over his back to carry his sword and followed her as she marched to the next hall.

"Nothing much," she replied off-handedly, scanning the tabs above the different leafy plants.

"Oh, come on, Sakura!" Sugietsu whined. He set his sword against the shelves and placed his hands on his hips. "Karin's still hawking Kisame, so Itachi might not even be here. So what are we doing here?" After a moment's pause, he added, "And why are we preparing like this?"

A very good question, Sakura thought to herself. It was around eleven o' clock and they were already in Rain. The border's slack in security was almost laughable. Disapprovingly, Sakura shook her head as she remembered how easily they, as rogue ninjas, traveled. As best as she could tell, they were a couple miles from the building Sasuke mentioned. "Some blown up building," she responded. Suigetsu didn't seem pleased with the vague answer, but he prodded again, anyway.

"Like, an Akatsuki hideout?"

"Possibly." Probably. Sakura sure hoped not. She really didn't think she could handle another one of those.

Leaning over again, Sakura picked a stem of a plant and stuffed it in the plastic bag. She started the trek to the check-out counter, not missing Suigetsu's look. "Why are you _paying_?" he questioned. The word sounded foreign on his lips. It probably was. As often as she forgot who Suigetsu really was, he wasn't a model citizen. And she'd seen him fight; mercy wasn't in his vocabulary, either. She had a hard time remembering that.

"Because that's what you're supposed to do." She got a huff in return. Rolling her eyes, Sakura wasn't quite prepared for what came out of Suigetsu's mouth next.

"What do you think of Sasuke?"

Sakura stopped in her tracks and peered over her shoulder suspiciously. A mix of surprise, confusion, and speechlessness passed over her face. "What kind of question is that? What do you think of him?"

Suigetsu snorted. "He's an ass. What else?" Sakura heard a distinct lack of disrespect in that. As "unfeeling" or "cold" as Sasuke was, no one could deny his talent. "But you didn't answer my question," he continued, skirting around her and standing in front of her. She tried to step past him, but he kept placing himself directly ahead of her before she got tired and forcibly relocated him.

Suigetsu rubbed his shoulder with a frown and followed her, a little more wary of inciting her displeasure. He leaned over her shoulder and started again. "What do you think of him?" he repeated. Sakura ignored him and stepped into the two person line of the check-out counter. Suigetsu wasn't one to give up. "When I first saw you, I figured you'd crush on him like every other girl. But you don't fawn over him and you don't ignore him. So... what then?"

Sakura chewed on her lip and didn't answer. Stubbornly, Suigetsu started for her, "I know you used to be teammates." He fell into silence then, waiting for a reply. Her pink head of hair bobbed up and down as she shifted from her right foot to her left. Suigetsu stared uncertainly at her back until her voice reached his ears, light and unconfident.

"He's nearly the same as he always was. Circumstances have changed him little."

He got the feeling she wasn't done, but he probed for more. "And?"

With a quick jerk of her shoulders, she turned impatiently and frowned at him. "And he's Sasuke-kun." Lines knitted themselves on her forehead, and she stared blankly at the opposite wall, not meeting his eyes. "I..." The lady at the counter waved them up, and she seemed happy for the distraction.

With a disgruntled sigh, Suigetsu stepped forwards with her and leaned close to her ear. "You used to love him, didn't you?" He slightly marveled at how stiff someone could become while still managing to carry out a movement without interruption. Sakura continued handing over her items. Suigetsu shook his head and amended, "No, that's not the right question. Do you still?"

Sakura handed the cashier the money and yanked her bag off the counter. Eyes shining with irritation, she turned to him and angrily spit out, "I don't see how that is any of your business-" Cut off by the look on Suigetsu's face, Sakura uncertainly glanced over her shoulder in the direction he was staring. She caught sight of Sasuke's dark form by the exit. A pang hid in her chest, not fading out, but embedding itself as a constant ache. (Suigetsu didn't know how long she and Naruto had gone without seeing his face.) The lowered line of Sasuke's eyebrows made her usher Suigetsu with her to the door. She slung the plastic bag onto her arm and met Sasuke's suspicion with a half-hearted smile.

"Are we leaving?" When Sasuke's look went even darker, Sakura reprimanded herself for sounding so ready to leave. As if that weren't suspicious enough. Ruffled, she tried to calm down her hammering heart and look _anywhere_ but Sasuke's face, even though she only succeeded in the exact opposite. Sasuke examined her with unabashed staring, and she licked her lips uncomfortably. "Jugo and Karin are outside," Sasuke said, eyeing her facial expression with scrutiny.

She scampered out the door, missing the interaction behind her altogether.

Sasuke had turned his gaze to Suigetsu, this time as a hard glare. Suigetsu grunted with something akin to disbelief and threw his sword over his back as he said, "Don't act as if you didn't want to know the answer to that yourself, Sasuke."

* * *

Awkward, was all Sakura could think. Suigetsu looked somewhere in between offended and snide. Karin was still focusing on Kisame and company's movements and Jugo was largely unaware. Staring at Sasuke's back, she noticed the tenseness in his back was about four times worse since this morning. What was wrong with him? He looked almost murderous as he left the store, Suigetsu sauntering in front of him. Sakura shook her head; not completely murderous. Wondering, too.

It was just a small hike to where Sasuke had said they were going. She watched the unchanging green and gray scenery as she wished they could stop traveling. But she wasn't keen on arriving, either. Suigetsu's words rang in her ears; she always hated storms.

Sasuke started slowing down his pace, and Sakura sighed to herself. They were almost there. With that thought in mind, she watched as Sasuke leapt down. She came closer to the edge of the forest and she followed suit, landing with a soft _plop_. Familiarity was almost too much to take. Sakura grimaced as the flashback was bright and clear in her mind. She probably wasn't far from where she had woken up a little over two weeks ago. Was it really only that long ago? she wondered. Yeah, it was. It seemed like a lifetime ago, though. (It sort of was.)

Blinking, she tried to force the image out of her mind, and she stared at the piles of debris. If the building had been blown up, then it had been blown up thoroughly. One portion looked only dilapidated, but others were reduced into powder. Maybe one of the bombs was a defect, and it hadn't gone off, she guessed.

Sasuke walked forwards first, his hand set confidently on the hilt of his sword, back straight, eyes scanning over the remains. His ease made her feel a little better. She stepped forward and ignored the spongy feeling of the soggy ground beneath her feet. But everywhere was foreign and strange to her; nowhere was Konoha.

Suigetsu marched behind her and leaned over her shoulder. "I bet he wanted you to say yes." It took her a second to understand what he was talking about.

"No, Suigetsu, you don't-"

"If nothing else, he's selfish." He threw his sword behind his back and jumped to the opposite side of the rubble. With a cringe, she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

To her right was the still standing portion of the building. Wandering, Sakura veered toward that. It was dark gray, darker still from the rain. She peered into the opening and glanced warily at the ceiling. How sturdy was this, anyway? She ran her hand along the wall and stopped when she felt indentions. There wasn't enough light to see it clearly, but the indentions roughly seemed like someone's hands. Bigger than hers, at least. She glanced away from the wall and stared into the darkness. The halls were littered with broken pieces and debris and rats. Instead, she imagined it empty and lighted; endless.

Sasuke's voice pulled her away from her thoughts. "Sakura." Spinning on her heel, she jogged out of the hall into the open air. Her skin prickled as she felt two chakra signatures pulsing very close to where they were. Was it-? Warmth pooled against her back: Sasuke suddenly stood close behind her. She felt Sasuke's arm firmly wrap half-way around her waist. Another tug later, and she was standing unbalanced next to Sasuke and the others. Despite herself, she spared a glance at him. Sakura rasped in a shaky breath and regained her sense of balance; the speed of moving almost made her dizzy.

Sasuke still stood very close to her and she had a hard time concentrating as the flicker of a cloak appeared between the trees. Karin had a deep frown etched onto her mouth. The redhead hadn't felt them as early as she would have liked. Suigetsu, on the other hand, seemed very excited about this. Jugo just looked _ready, _as he always was.

Sakura's breath hitched in her throat. Kisame singled her out and smiled. The tilt of his head and his feral grin made her uneasy. Thickly, she swallowed and cast a sideways glance at Sasuke. Pulling on her gloves, she felt only a little better.

"Nice to finally catch up with you." Kisame kept the same smile on his face as he spoke, looking sinfully delighted to be there. His robes fluttered at the bottom, and a flurry of paper sprang up beside him. Layers of paper piled on top of itself and formed the soft face and shape of Akatsuki's only female. Konan lifted her face in greeting. The paper folded itself behind her and disappeared. Understanding, Sakura looked upwards at the gray rain clouds. Then they weren't here to fight, she thought. Or at least Konan wasn't; she couldn't, not with the rain.

"Can we just start this already?" Suigetsu said, a wicked smile playing on his lips. No sooner than he spoke, he wielded his sword and raced toward Kisame.

Konan wasn't here to fight, and maybe Kisame wasn't either, but he definitely didn't mind, Sakura noted. His fishlike face was smiling; he had his hand already poised on the handle of his Samehada. Suigetsu neared and Sakura lost her vision as water enveloped the both of them. Konan took an uneasy jump backwards into the trees, away from the water and remained there.

A hand landed on her hip. Sakura sucked in a breath and held it as Sasuke pulled her in the opposite direction. She opened her mouth to complain, but he cut her off. "Stay out of the way."

"Last I checked you put me there," she snapped, glaring at him until he settled his gaze back on her. Gruffly, he stared down at her and said, "What, you can't move now?"

"Well, I'm beginning to wonder," was all she got out before a blast threw a wave of wind over them. Crouching, Sakura gripped the earth in her hands and distinctly felt Sasuke pull her behind him. She peeked up at him, despite the gust of wind, and stared at his back in front of her. (She realized she didn't like the look on his face. Like he was prepared for the worst.)

Abruptly, the wind stopped. Suigetsu skidded to a halt several meters from where Kisame was. Sporting a rather large wound on his side, he cradled the gash against his arm. Karin hopped down beside him from the cover of the trees, and Sakura watched curiously as he bit her arm and the wound closed. A transaction of chakra-?

"Kisame. Enough." Konan's voice was soft coming from the veil of the trees.

Resting his sword beside him, Kisame glanced up to Konan and gave in to her reluctantly. With a sigh, he turned back to them, eyeing Suigetsu with satisfaction.

"What do you want?" asked Sasuke, voice flat with demand.

Kisame gave a short laugh. "Just visiting." He smiled at Sakura and said, "We still have that deal, you know."

"A deal?" Sakura began, fighting the dread that was settling into her stomach. She stood up to her full height, painstakingly aware of Sasuke's mood change; his stiffness was unnerving.

Kisame's face went blank and then split into a ferocious grin. She let out a steadying breath as he said, "Have you forgotten? Oh, Itachi really is good." He switched his gaze towards Sasuke. "He's very thorough. He almost always does his jobs without exceptions."

"Forgotten?" Sakura directed his attention back to her.

"I'm sure you've figured a thing or two out," Kisame remarked. "I'm sure this place is awfully familiar. Lots of good memories."

Her face fell into a frown, and Sakura grit her teeth. Déjà vu made her head swim.

Barking out a laugh, Kisame smiled widely, his canines sharp and visible. "You never ceased to be lively. I certainly hope you haven't forgotten everything; it would make me feel a little underappreciated." He titled his head to the side. "Do you still have that scar on your side, Sakura? That was-"

"Kisame." Sasuke's mouth was a thin, slanted line, tipping downwards in a scowl.

"Fine," he announced, checking over his shoulder for Konan and moving his sword behind his back. He stared at Sakura and began, "Since you don't remember the details, I'll make this simple. You help us; we don't kill Naruto. You don't help us; we don't have any reason to keep him alive. And you know..." he paused, adding, "Konoha's already surrounded. You may want to answer that quickly."

Already surrounded? Were they fighting now? Thoughtfully, Sakura hedged, "Help you? ...With what?"

An annoyed expression passed over his face and Kisame replied, "With Madara. You'll heal him."

"Is he still alive?"

"...He's being preserved."

So Akatsuki wanted her to what, re-grow his vital organs and revive him? Sasuke angled his head towards hers and she stared at him out of the corner of her eye. Kisame prompted, "Well?" and Sakura sucked in a breath. Naruto...

"No."

Sasuke kept his eyes steadily on her, and Kisame gave a disinterested shrug. "Your loss." He didn't make a move to leave. "But are you sure?"

"If Itachi is so thorough, don't you already know how to help Madara?" Sakura asked.

Konan jumped down from the trees. "Her answer is no. Let's leave, Kisame."

"All work and no play," Kisame sighed and turned around. They disappeared in the trees.

No one moved. Sakura tried to quiet her uneven breathing and felt the nausea turning in her stomach. Dizziness made her thoughts drown from the sensation. Suigetsu was the first one to move, standing up as he cursed. "One of these days," he mumbled, still rubbing the spot where Kisame's sword had hit him. Karin crouched dazed next to him, and Jugo landed a few yards from Sasuke. His yellow orbs landed on Sasuke and he asked, "Now what?"

"Itachi will be in Konoha."

Sasuke only looked down, but Sakura insisted again, "You know he will." She stepped in front of him and leaned her head down to see his. Briefly, he looked at her in response and glanced back at Jugo. The silver rays of noon cast a shadow across his face.

"Yeah." A smile started its way on Sakura's face. He raised his voice for Suigetsu and Karin and repeated, "It looks like we're going to Konoha."

* * *

a/n.  
woo. i finally finished it. with independence day and my brother and his wife coming to visit, i didn't have as much time to work on this. anyway:

review, guys! if i haven't mentioned it before, i really appreciate your feedback. i rather enjoy reading it. xD


	15. Brothers

&dedicated to: whenifallxx (for giving such a lovely review). thank you. :D

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&the disclaimer is applied.

hey, does anyone use the 1/2 or 3/4 setting on the right side of the page? am i the only one? i think it kinda looks better that way.

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R  
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F  
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15

thank you to everybody  
reading this!

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March 22

Location- Konoha

The village echoed with shouts and screams. It was the first attack on the Hidden Leaf Village in the last five years.

Fiery sparks lit up everywhere, and civilians ran through the streets, rushing to the safe houses in scattered masses.

Sakura crouched on top of a tree and felt the limb sway as four others leaped beside her. Chaos enveloped the Leaf village, in the absolute truest sense of the word. Buildings were already broken down, and part of the massive wall had been breached. The first step in war was to protect the villagers; but by the looks of it, the time it was taking had cost a lot of casualties.

Sasuke's eyes were burning holes on her face, Sakura thought. Maybe it was the circumstances, but he was lacking any of his usual discretion. His eyes blazed a deep scarlet, spinning black tomoe around his pupils. His chakra stretched out around her, and she could sense his direction. He fanned out his energy, searching for the one reason he was here.

Sucking in a breath, Sakura sighed. She had to hand it to him; he stayed on track.

She didn't particularly care why he was here or why he wanted her to think he came. If he took down Itachi, who knew how many Leaf ninjas wouldn't die for that same cause. He looked at her with a devilish gleam in his eye. Sasuke's body tensed up, and in the next second, his form smoothly disappeared. The breeze he left waved across her face, and she looked at the other three.

"You don't have to be here," Sakura started slowly, staring at Jugo, Suigetsu, and Karin. She looked back at the village and said, "But if anyone feels like killing Sound ninja or Akatsuki, knock yourself out." The village would need all the help it could get.

She thought she heard Suigetsu give a whoop of excitement. Springing off the branch, Sakura bounded inside the perimeter of the walls. She landed and dropped to her knees swiftly. Ninjas were crawling everywhere. In the streets, kunai flew in every direction, while the stealthier ones hid in the shadows, waiting for opportunities.

One of those stealthier ninja slid around the edge of building, aiming at her. Swinging a leg, she hit her attacker in the torso, and he crashed into the village barrier. Two others reeled into her by accident; they ricocheted into the opposite direction as she pushed them off.

Sand was kicked up in the air, leaving a lazy haze. She shielded her eyes and gripped the eave of a house, swinging herself over. Someone stood on top, waiting for her; a smile started on her face before she looked up.

"About time."

Two very familiar brown eyes stared into her own. His trademark lazy drawl was still intact; Shikamaru in all his standard uniform glory stood in front of her. A cigarette rested in between his lips as per usual, circling in lethargic movements. She could barely see the smoke through the sand in the air.

He didn't waste any time. "It's the west side we're slacking on," he commented, as if he talking about the weather. "The market place was hell to evacuate, people screaming everywhere. Help out where you can. And make a point to kill enemy ninja if someone sees you."

Sakura's mouth quirked up in a smile. "You're not going to attack me, Shikamaru?"

"Nah, that'd be a waste when we have real enemies running around. No one should bother you, as long as you're helping us. We've got our hands full."

The end was an understatement. "...We have a chance, right?" It didn't matter if they did or didn't, though. They would all fight until it was over. Shikamaru knew that as well as she did.

"Who was with you?" He flicked the cigarette in another circle and nodded toward the village wall.

Sakura shot a glance over her shoulder, and sure enough, the rest of Sasuke's team wasn't there. She decided to take that as a good sign. Two ninjas skidded under the building they were on, and she called over the yells, "Sasuke."

Shikamaru made a vague gesture and nodded. "For Itachi?"

"Yeah. His team is here, too. One of them might be aiming for Kisame." She assumed Kisame was the reason Suigetsu hadn't complained about coming.

Shikamaru's shadow slanted away from him, and Sakura didn't bother to look around. He frowned and replied, "Head to the west side. We could use someone to take out the masses."

She laughed at his wording and pulled her gloves on tighter. "You got it."

Another series of screams echoed behind her as she left. Shikamaru was at an advantage with the length of the shadows.

He hadn't said they were losing. She decided to take that as a good sign, too.

* * *

As she moved through the houses, Sakura couldn't estimate how many Sound ninja there were. It was like an infestation of ninja. Shikamaru wasn't kidding when he mentioned the west side.

She glanced around at the damage and figured Sound might have concentrated on the west side and swarmed it; whereas, Konoha usually spread out their ninja all around. By the time an alert could have gone out, it was probably too late.

Her knuckles cracked as she threw a hard punch into someone's stomach. There were so many Sound ninja, she hardly had to open her eyes to tell whether or not they were Leaf. (Because that was just what she needed: to kill a Leaf ninja and have that against her, too, she thought.)

She was damaging a lot of the building, but it couldn't be helped. Sakura slung another few ninja over her back. It would be morning soon. When had she arrived? A few hours ago? It seemed longer than that. Her arm burned when she surged more chakra into it, readying herself to take out the next several ninja in front of her.

A loud crack rang in her ears. This time, it was against the trees in the forest. Minus a few, the invasion on that side was almost taken care of. Glancing behind her, Sakura rasped in a breath and gazed at the stacks of bodies. The majority were Sound. She tried not to look at the ones who weren't. A few Leaf ninja took out the last of the Sound ninja straddling the wall. One or two of them sent curious looks at her.

Sakura recognized one of the Leaf ninjas from Interrogations. Thickly, she swallowed and waved at him for his attention. "Where's Naruto?" Why hadn't she seen him yet?

"In the marketplace," he answered, out of the breath. A peculiar whirring sound erupted miles away. Sakura groaned. She knew that sound, and it came from the direction of the marketplace. She started towards the center of the village.

Rain starting patting down a little heavier than it had been. She wiped the water out of her eyes and started picking up her pace. White streaked across the sky in shattering strokes. It lit up the night in a jagged line, illuminating the tops of the broken buildings.

Sakura stood still where she was. The thunderstorm had been gradually building for a while, so she wondered if it was her imagination...? Electrified chakra fizzed through the air, making her hair stand up on end. The crackling of a familiar move out-roared the lightning, but she knew better. The lightning was a new addition to his trademark jutsu. Sasuke had apparently found Itachi. And if he had resorted to lightning, were things drawing to a close?

If she were any less tired, she could have screamed. Who first? Naruto would be okay, right? He had the Nine Tails. That line of thinking didn't help. He could lose control.

Who was closer? Sakura glanced back at the lightning; Sasuke was by the village gates. Her hands shook, and she headed south.

Her feet pounded against the sand as she set off running. The air was still cold, and it burned in her lungs. Bodies blocked her feet's path; she jumped onto the eaves of the houses. Some of the buildings had been reduced to rubble or stacks of support beams. Various ninja still battled around her, so she tried to keep to the shadows. Dust clogged the air, thrown up from bombs and battles. The lightning continued to roar in her ears.

Sakura dropped to her hands and knees to run in a feline position, trying to get more traction against the rubble. There was hardly anything to hold onto; if things kept up, whole sections would be levelled. Sasuke's massive chakra signature grew clearer in her mind, and she raced towards it. (Be _safe_, Naruto, she thought to herself.)

A body flew through the air, and she didn't have time to dodge it. Bleeding through his chest, the ninja tried to shield his wound with his arm. He landed awkwardly on top of her. A small symbol on his forehead stopped her from helping.

Sakura glanced to her right and saw Kiba and Akamaru spinning in unison, enemy ninja bouncing off them like flies. She shrugged off the man and ignored his pitiful yelp of agony. He fell to the ground. With the weakness of sympathy, she hauled him up with her arm and laid him on the side of the roof. Sakura frowned and stabbed a kunai through his chest, turning her head as his blood spurted from the gash. His eyelids fluttered closed, and she bounded off to the tops of the village gates.

The familiar granite touch met her fingertips.

Squinting, Sakura recognized the figures of the last two Uchihas against the tree line. Had she barely made it? She clutched the slabs of granite, trying to see through the mist and rain.

Sasuke and Itachi ran toward each other; their limbs zipped past each other in matched speed. The angry thunder howled, and a blue bolt tore the sky in half. The flash lit up their faces, and two Sharingans peered at each other in strange mirror-images.

Blood splattered onto Sasuke's face and trickled down his cheek. His hand fisted inside the growing crater of his brother's chest. The concentrated light broke off in rough shafts, and Itachi's body sagged under the intensity, slouching to the torn ground as Sasuke disengaged his jutsu.

Sakura shifted on top of the gate. She had planned to leave him alone so she could find Naruto. Then Sasuke's tower-like form collapsed to the forest floor in the next instant, and Sakura swore to herself. Her hands already charged with green chakra, she leaped to the center of the clearing. Her feet hit the ground no sooner than her knees.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura murmured. She rolled Sasuke onto his back and steadied her hands on the gaping slashes across his stomach. His breath quickened in shallow puffs, and a sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead.

Did she even have enough chakra? She might not. She couldn't use it all; what about Naruto? Weaving her chakra into the small linings of his chakra network, Sakura tried to pull and manipulate his reserves, which weren't much, to heal some of the minor damage. His own chakra would work better on his own body, but she couldn't grasp his chakra with her own.

As she almost gave up, his chakra twitched under her fingertips. She smiled and directed it towards his stomach.

Sasuke's breath caught in the back of his throat. Sakura yanked her eyes to his face. "Sasuke-kun?" His eyelids fell over his pupils as she watched the irises roll into the back of his head. He was going into circulatory shock from blood loss.

The thick, sticky red liquid pooled under Sakura's knees and filled in the cracks of the ground. His wounds were closing, but it didn't look like he would wake up any time soon.

Flesh sealed together under her fingers, and a cough shuddered through Sasuke's chest cavity. His head lolled onto her lap, and he panted in the cold air. He wasn't so bad off, she thought to herself. The blood loss wasn't enough to kill him, at least.

She gently grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm around her shoulders; his face landed awkwardly on her neck. She tried to lift him on her back, but he gave a half-conscious grunt of protest.

Droplets of rain splashed onto Sakura's face. She almost managed to laugh. While Sasuke refused to be carried, shrugging off her hands, she pulled him closer still. He continued to swat her hands away.

"Stop being so..." He grunted with the effort. "Annoying." His voice was soft in the rain.

Sakura paused and laughed. Rain ran in rivers down her face and hair. Would he react differently if he knew she was only trying to shelter him from the cold, so he didn't sick, too? Probably not. She looped his arm around her neck and held him next to her out of spite.

"Sakura, I can't breathe..." he paused, sounding gruff with exhaustion, "with you on me like that."

"You'll live." Nostalgia made her smile. The blood loss was making him hallucinate, she reasoned. Flashbacks to the time he was in Waves.

The rain picked up even more, and the blood ran off the front of her shirt. She paused to figure out what she could do with Sasuke. She couldn't get to Naruto with him-

A cloud of smoke erupted in front of her, covering a ninja with his hands still in the transportation stance.

"Lady Tsunade needs you. The troops have pulled out. What's left of them." The ninja stood motionless in front of her before he disappeared as quickly as he came. The heavy downpour had blurred her vision of him. That was disgust on his face? It was easy to forget that she wasn't technically welcome in Konoha.

Sakura curtly nodded to herself and muttered to Sasuke, despite his unconscious state, "Can't win 'em all, I guess."

She locked her fingers together around Sasuke's body to materialize at the Hokage Tower. Water rippled off their two forms onto the wooden floors in a muted splash. Tsunade faced the window, surveying the damages of the village. Which weren't hard to pick out.

Setting Sasuke down on the chair in the corner, Sakura was careful not to open the newly healed gashes. His head fell backwards to rest on the wall, and his eyes remained slightly opened. Wet pink hair stuck to the side of her face, and somewhat to the side of his face. Sakura lingered over him. His look was a little too attentive for someone who was supposed to be in shock. He regarded her movements with a lazy interest shining behind his half-lidded eyes.

She released her arms from him and turned around to face Tsunade. Blond hair lay across her back in pigtails as always. Her red fingernails were tracing patterns on the window sills. Sakura figured someone would notice her and report her to the Hokage, but this was sooner than she had imagined. Who had told Tsunade? And... Naruto. Was he okay?

"Danzo was missing during the attack," Tsunade intoned, without any particular emphasis.

Sakura frowned. Danzo? What did she mean?

"Kakashi found him two hours ago, trapped under a fallen building…" Tsuande trailed off. She peered over her shoulder at Sakura and looked her up and down. "Take Sasuke and go to the hospital. Tell them I sent you and stay there for the night. Stay out of trouble; I've got things to take care of."

Sakura nodded and swallowed down the lump in her throat. She wasn't being thrown in jail, so far. No one was interrogating her. All good signs.

She slid her foot toward Sasuke and pulled him next to her. His weight leaned less onto her than before, but his head found the same spot on her neck to rest against. Sakura tugged him up farther. She paused with her hand on the doorknob. The words died in her throat.

As the soft click of the double doors echoed in her office, Tsunade turned and set her eyes on the manila folder lying on her desk.

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-

The familiar smells of the hospital surrounded her, and she recognized it even in unconsciousness. Her mind drifted away from slumber, and Sakura blearily opened her eyes. It took her a few moments to realize that the monotonous beeping of a machine was missing. The room felt hollow to her without it.

Rain patted against the window behind her still. Lazy drops hushed the background noise of various nurses shuffling down the halls. Sakura sat up and stared at Sasuke. He slept in the opposite bed. The hospital workers had been fairly gracious in giving them a room. She supposed it was because she had worked with them. A few still glared as she had tugged Sasuke down the hall.

Uproar, was all she could think when she had entered the hospital. Blood was everywhere; ninjas filled up every corner. Sakura remembered not too fondly many nights like that, when she had to run the hospital with Tsunade and Shizune.

She focused her eyes and noticed with a start that Sasuke was staring at her.

"Hi."

He blinked a few more times and pushed himself up in a sitting position. Raking his hand through his spiked hair, Sasuke eyed her wearily. She smiled lightly and shrugged. It seemed as fitting as any other greeting, just perhaps not what he was looking for.

He glanced out of the window and frowned. His back hit the wall with a soft _thud_. He folded his arm across his chest and left one leg dangling off the edge of the lumpy hospital bed. Sakura examined the bandages covering his sides and the small cuts littering his collarbone and shoulders. Tape wrapped his whole stomach. "You're not going to ask what happened?" Sakura asked, folding her legs beneath her.

"No, I can guess as much," Sasuke answered. He gazed up at the ceiling blankly.

Itachi was dead. What did he want to do now? She wanted to say something, but there weren't any words. What would the Council do with them? There was no point in planning for the future when he might be dead tomorrow.

The rain picked up, and Sakura stared at the hospital sheets. Pursing her lips, she watched the movements outside the window as the rain washed everything away. The blood had already been swept downhill from the storm. All the houses were dark. The sections that were damaged the worst were empty. The safe houses were probably littered with people whose houses were too badly destroyed.

She looked away and averted her eyes back to Sasuke. Rain filled up the silence.

* * *

a/n.  
so i thought that this would be the last chapter. but as it turns out, there is one more chapter!

i'm so sorry for the late update, too. ): but the next chapter will be updated in exactly seven days! which is precisely one year and one month since i first posted this story (that's not terribly long, right? that includes the edit, too.). stay tuned, people!

drop a review in the review box, if you _please_. :P because i love you all. *cyber hug* there are plenty of better writers, so it's really cool of you people to read and review. it's appreciated. xD

-and pea ess. ohmygoodness, has anyone else read the last manga? (cue plug: onemanga .com is pretty fantastic.)


	16. End

&dedicated to: everyone who has reviewed. :D and specifically, lauchoco92, the very first reviewer!

Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.

&for the last time in "refuge", i apply the official disclaimer that i do not and will not own naruto. ever. ):

* * *

oh my gosh it's

R.E.F.U.G.E.

final chapter.

read it and  
weep.

* * *

March 23

Location- Konoha

Sakura let out the breath she was holding. Tentatively, she slid her eyes toward Sasuke. Stone faced, as always.

She hated having everyone stare at her. Jounins sat in a half- circle in the conference room of the Hokage Tower. Tsuande sat in front of them, at the center. Sakura continued fidgeting with her fingers and trying to spare a few glances around the room. Naruto sat in the front, his arm in a sling and an eager grin on his face. Naruto smiling was a good sign, right? she thought. At least he was okay.

A warm, clean hand wrapped around her fingers, and she stopped fidgeting under its hold. "Stop," Sasuke muttered, eyeing her reprovingly.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm nervous; can you blame me?" she answered, her voice lowered to a whisper. She could have yelled it; everyone was probably listening in, anyway. Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat and looked ahead at Tsunade.

She and Sasuke were pulled out of the hospital early that morning and kept in a cell...

-x-

The cell was only half lit, and it was in the cleaner sections of the Interrogations quarters. Sasuke was pushed in a little more roughly than her mild "nudge", Sakura noticed. The guard's name was Yuki, and he had a hesitant smile for her when she turned around. The door closed behind them firmly, and Sasuke promptly found a spot on the floor to sit. She glanced up at the small, square window, wondering how long they had to stay in a cell.

She looked back at Sasuke. His eyes were closed. He tilted his head back against the stones of the wall and fell into his normal silence.

If you could stay, she wondered, would you be happy, Sasuke-kun? When he focused his gaze on hers with that same black intensity he was so accustomed to, she realized she had said it aloud.

"Would you?" she insisted. Sakura bit her lip, because she didn't understand the look in his eye.

"..."

"Well?"

"A stupid question."

"Okay." She amended, "Cross out 'happy', then. Would you hate it here?" She had the distinct feeling that he hadn't really considered his personal "happiness" in some time. If ever.

"...I don't know, Sakura," Sasuke offered, giving in. With an exasperated wave of his hand, he answered, "I guess it depends."

"Depends on what?"

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably on the ground and turned to glare at the wall. "Just sit down and be quiet."

He shielded his torso with his arms on top of his knees in a loose circle. He was probably still in pain, Sakura figured, so she decided to leave him alone. She hesitated and walked toward him, plopping down next to him against the wall. Sasuke got his wish for the next few minutes until she leaned towards him. "Did you miss us?"

Sakura frowned at his deadpan look.

"Fine, different question. Did you think about us?"

His hand raked through his hair. "Yes." It didn't mean he necessarily thought well of them, so he seemed satisfied with the answer.

Nodding, Sakura fell into a similar silence.

It was another hour before a series of pounds echoed from the right corner of the building. Sakura shifted on the floor and sat with her legs Indian-style. Was that-?

On cue, Naruto waltzed through the door with a cheer that hadn't entered Interrogations before. "NARUTO UZUMAKI IS IN THE BUILDING!" Naruto announced. He sported a hefty sling on his right arm, which hampered the effect of pumping his fist into the air. Kakashi appeared behind him, noticeably more subdued. Sakura's smile was all Naruto saw before he lifted her up with one arm. "Sakura-chan!"

Laughing ,Sakura held onto his neck with both arms.

Naruto swung her around once more for good measure before he set her down. His smile caught her off guard for a long pause. She couldn't pinpoint what it reminded her of. "I'm so glad to see you, Sakura. I never believed for a second what everyone said." His blue eyes settled on her with relief. Then she remembered: families of patients at the hospital. She had forgotten that look of desperation and disbelief. It had been so long. She decided that it didn't look good on Naruto.

"I've missed you," was all Sakura could think to say. His arms were tight around her waist until he released her. Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, who hadn't moved, and she padded toward Kakashi. Kakashi had his orange book in his hand, but it remained there slightly ignored. She smiled and reached up to hug him.

"We do have business here, you know," Kakashi started, glancing all around the room. He stopped at Sasuke. Letting go of Sakura, he flipped his book closed and pocketed it. "Naruto refused to let anyone else do this. Cooperate with our questions, please."

Naruto spared a questioning look at Sakura, and she answered off-handedly, "Of course."

He smiled in return. "Well?" Naruto asked, facing Sasuke.

Sasuke still sat on the floor. Sakura credited that toward his wounds, rather than his attitude. Of course she was being hopeful. He shrugged in a nonchalant manner. "Ask something."

"Have you killed any Konoha ninja?"

"...No."

Kakashi peered at Sakura, and she felt a little offended. _"No."_

He only nodded and gave her an absent pat on the head. "Did you help us in the invasion?"

They both answered yes.

Interrogations dragged on longer than Sakura might have guessed. Where they'd been and why, who'd they had killed... The list went on. Smiling to herself, Sakura wondered how Naruto remembered the questions. It ended with "Why were you with Sasuke and his team, Sakura?"

And she grimaced; the Council would love to fault her with that. Hobnobbing with a missing ninja? Wonderful.

To Sakura's surprise, Sasuke answered for her. "To help me kill Itachi."

"And did you?"

"Yes."

"And where were you, Sakura?" Kakashi asked. He turned toward her somewhat repentantly.

Folding her arms, Sakura propped herself against the wall and pursed her lips, starting with, "Ah..." Lines started forming on Kakashi's forehead, and she tried to find the words. She didn't want to look guilty, after all. "Everywhere, sort of."

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, we need specifics." Naruto shrugged.

"I was... taken." She frowned at the word choice. "I was in Rain... first. With Sound and Akatsuki. Then they moved to Waves, I think. I don't really remember anything." Scratching the back of her head, Sakura cringed. Her story wouldn't hold up very well in trial if she didn't remember everything. "I woke up in Rain, where I met someone who had seen me running from Akatsuki. Then I came back to Konoha-"

"You came back to Konoha!" Naruto gasped. His blue eyes were big and round. "And you didn't tell me?!"

"Sorry, Naruto," Sakura answered sheepishly. "That was early March. I couldn't have very well paraded into your apartment. I only saw Tsuande, and she told me to leave." Naruto didn't look very happy, though. "And... then I travelled. Somehow, I ended in Waves and found Sasuke-kun. Well, it was... the other way around, actually."

Kakashi only nodded and turned half-way towards Sasuke. He vaguely gestured to both of them. "So why are you two here?"

-x-

That brought her to present. Tsunade brought the room into silence and flipped open a folder in front of her. Sakura could spot "**CONFIDENTIAL. Property of Lady Hokage.**" in big, block letters.

She began with a flat, "The Council's dead."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up, and a din of voices erupted within the jounin assembly. The Council dead?

"Killed by the Akatsuki. I have confirmation from Interrogations." Tsunade sighed and started rifling through the pages, looking reluctant. "I'll give you the gist." She cleared her throat and started, "Danzo was found at seven p.m. by Kakashi Hatake, crushed beneath a building. All other members of the Council were found in the Hokage Tower, each suffering a slash in the jugular.

"Burnt remains of paper were found in the back room. From what can be read, it seems the papers had details of an arrangement with Akatsuki." Tsunade started scanning the pages and summarizing. "It's rumored the Council was involved in the invasion, along other dealings with Sound. Then the 'arrangement' seemed to be centered around-" She paused and eyed Sakura. "-Sakura Haruno and the chakra development study she was funded for. We can only speculate the motives.

"Alright, lastly, the Akatsuki members that were here in the attack were Kisame Hoshigaki, Itachi Uchiha, Pein, and Konan; taken down by a Suigetsu Hozuki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki respectively. Konan was reported to have left after appearing in the invasion." Tsunade flipped another page. "And... Sasuke Uchiha's team is being held in Interrogations for the time being. Jugo, Karin, and Suigetsu Hozuki will be detained there until Sasuke is sentenced his punishment, and until we decide what to do with them.

Tsuande pushed the folder away from her slightly and faced the assembly. "So we are left with two missing ninjas, and no Council. It will be up to you jounin to decide. The trial starts now." She even had an anvil, which she swiftly banged against the desk in front of her.

Naruto's yell rebounded behind Sakura. "Are you kidding me, Grandma? A trial, now!?"

"Quiet!" Tsuande stared at the lacquered floors and brushed a pigtail behind her. "We'll begin with both accounts." Her voice was the same honeyed tone Sakura remembered. Tsunade's almond eyes settled on the two. "As I know Sakura will recall, you two cannot defend yourselves. Interrogations will report what they know, and you may only answer any questions directed at you." Sasuke grunted in annoyance, and she finished with a glare directed at him.

Trying not to fidget again, Sakura contemplated the effectiveness of trials. For half of an hour, Naruto and Kakashi had to report their interrogation. Beside her, Sasuke grew more and more irritated as arguments went back and forth. The words "traitors" and "death sentence" were brought up enough to make him unpleasant.

Naruto spoke up. "Then I have a question for both of them. Why are they back in Konoha?" Naruto looked... nervous. A messenger had interrupted when Kakashi had said them the same question, summoning them for Lady Hokage. So neither of them had answered. Sakura huffed to herself. Did they question _her _motives? Did Naruto?

"Sasuke Uchiha, go first," Tsunade ordered, resting back in her chair as she waited for his reponse.

Sakura could almost feel his sigh. He turned around and let everyone have a good look at him. Don't say something rude, Sakura pleaded to herself. "I helped you win a war, didn't I?"

She groaned.

"Don't be a smartass, Uchiha. It's not helping your case," Tsunade snapped.

"Case?" he answered. Sasuke angled his head over his shoulder and frowned. "This couldn't even be called a trial." Sakura felt herself getting paler as he went on. "No one knows what to do. We'll stand here another three hours and be packaged into a cell again."

"Oh, really?" Tsuande's temper was no better than it normally was. "And what do you suggest we do?"

Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets. "Vote already. Or just put us on indefinite probation."

Kakashi stood up before Tsuande could get angrier. "I know one jounin who's in your favor." His lone eye crinkled in a smile.

Naruto pumped his fist into the air and backed him up. "Yeah, yeah! Probation until we're certain they aren't threats! No harm in that, right, guys?"

People starting talking amongst themselves, but Naruto's voice was louder than the rest. "Come on, you remember Sakura-chan! All of you would be dead by now without her. And Sasuke-teme hasn't hurt any of us. He's helped us, even!"

Tsunade sighed loudly behind her, and Sakura turned around to face her. "Tsunade, you know Sasuke-kun and I only want to stay," she whispered.

The jounin still argued with each other, and Tsuande lowered her voice. "I know, Sakura," she said. "But it has to be majority. We can't have dissent with the villagers. Especially now."

Mutely, Sakura nodded and turned around. The jounin bickered with each other.

"House arrest."

"Death sentence!"

"They haven't done anything!"

"Oh, come on, guys! Isn't house arrest, probation, and some community service enough?" Naruto bellowed.

Sakura groaned softly. _Mpnths_ of community service?

Pumping his fist in the air again, Naruto put on his reassuring smile. "It's not like we couldn't use the help around here! In the hospital, too."

Tsunade interrupted, "Naruto! Sit down!" With a meaningful glare, Tsunade got him to sit back down and she continued, "Speaking of which, I have the final report on the damages." She opened the folder again. "But we'll talk about that later. We'll finished questions to the two accused, and then we'll dismiss them to discuss the sentence." She turned to Sasuke and leaned forward. "Answer Naruto. Why are you here?"

"To stay," he sighed. He could have made more of an effort to sound assuring, Sakura thought.

"Sakura?"

Shaking her head, Sakura shrugged. "To stay."

Tsunade nodded and waved the guards in the back forward. "Alright, you two are dismissed. You'll be held upstairs."

The room fell into a temporary silence. All the jounin had their eyes on them, watching the two exit. The double doors shut behind them with a soft _click_, and voices already started filtering through the door. One of the guards motioned the two in front of him with a "This way." Sakura glanced uncertainly behind her and clenched her fists. Just like that? They couldn't even be there to hear the sentence?

_Sentence. _It's funny how things happen. When Sasuke left, Sakura never thought Kakashi would have another missing ninja on his team... Sasuke walked silently next her; she took a little comfort in not being alone. The room upstairs was not much larger than a closet. The guards let them in and shut the door.

* * *

Sakura tapped her feet impatiently on the floor. It had been an hour. Sasuke had been half-asleep the whole time, and that left her with little to do but think. Was it that hard of a decision? She had been gone... for six months -six months in which there had been no trace of her. If they were just going to proclaim her dead, why did they bother labelling her a missing ninja? The Council hadn't liked her, of course, but... It was oddly coincidental that those measures were taken. So that even if she were alive, she couldn't come back.

"_Sakura_," Sasuke groaned next to her.

Forehead scrunched up, Sakura glanced over curiously. He motioned to her feet, and she chuckled, tapping one last time before bringing her legs up to her chest. She hugged her knees. "Sasuke-kun..." But there wasn't really anything to say that he didn't already know. She bit her lip unhappily and remained quiet.

"What?" Sasuke prompted. Crossly, he folded his arms and propped one leg across the other.

Sakura smiled, despite herself. "It's nothing. I guess I just feel like talking. Distraction." She turned and stared at his profile. A hairline cut ran down his jaw, and she reached up to wipe it away, index finger covered in chakra. Sasuke peered at her out of the corner of his eye; as she withdrew her hand, he sagged against the wood wall and looked up. "Are you still in pain? You really shouldn't even be awake." It was impressive that he was conscious.

His eyelids slipped over his eyes, and he nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry."

Sasuke started shifting where he sat. "Why say sorry for something that's not your fault?"

It seemed like more of a rhetorical question. Sakura hugged her knees closer and let her head hit the wall. Looking at the ceiling, she shrugged. "That's really not the point."

"Then the point is?"

"Because I'm sorry you're in pain? It doesn't have to be my fault, for me to want you to feel better." Sakura looked at him and frowned. "You're too independent when you can't even let someone feel bad for you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke grunted and then suddenly looked down.

"What?" Sakura asked. She put her feet on the floor and leaned toward him. "What, are they out?"

The guards opened the door. It was a short trip downstairs, and the jounin had already filtered out of the conference room.

They stopped a few doors down, in the doorway of one of the verandas. Sasuke stood next to her, eyeing the village. Sakura shifted where she stood, leaning against the door frame Slowly, she started, "It'll be fine." He turned to look at her, the gray light from the rain clouds softening the harshness of his face. She smiled and tugged his hand toward hers, squeezing before letting go. "Promise."

Nodding, Sasuke opened his mouth, about to say something, when Naruto's hand slapped down on his back.

"Teme, you got off easy!" Naruto yelled triumphantly, lacing his fingers behind his head. His smile was brighter than she remembered.

Sasuke snorted and leaned away toward the railing, looking terribly grumpy. Folding his arms across his chest, he frowned. "Dobe."

Naruto just laughed.

-

-

-

-

Rain poured onto the window, leaving the trees blurry and smudged. Sakura curled closer to the glass pane on the window sill and wrapped her fingers tighter around the teacup in her hands. Steam came off the liquid, and she took another sip. She leaned her head against the glass and unfolded her legs, letting one drape to the floor.

Sasuke waltzed into the room and plopped onto the sofa; bandages were still wrapped around his torso. His hair was still rumpled from sleeping. Groggily, he rubbed at his eyes.

"Naruto and Kakashi are taking us out today, you know. If you feel bad _now, _make sure you take an aspirin," Sakura said. She smiled as a soft groan met her ears, and she added, "To get ramen, even. I'm sure you haven't forgotten how Naruto eats his ramen." Sakura laughed lightly as Sasuke groaned a little louder.

He lay across the length of the couch and folded his hands on his bandaged chest. "...Who's watching us now?"

"Shikamaru and Ino." Peering through the window, Sakura waved at the two figures opposite the apartment. Ino could not be happy: she had to be complaining about the rain and her hair, Sakura thought to herself with a smile.

"Hn."

One month of house arrest, and then five months of community service. That's if they were good little missing ninjas. Twenty-eight more days of house arrest. Lookng up, Sakura slid off the window sill and perched on top of the arm of the couch.

Sasuke kept his eyes resolutely shut, a frown impressively intact.

Leaning over him a little more, Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes. "Sasuke-kun, we both know you want to see them."

She brushed a strand of hair off his forehead, and Sasuke caught her fingers. "Maybe." Sakura smiled, and he kept her fingers where they were, holding them midair. "How are you feeling?" he asked, voice deep and hoarse from sleep.

Her eyes strayed to his hand, and Sakura made a slight shrug. "I'm... fine. Ino's been making them go easy on me." Interrogations was breaking the mind blocks on her memory. The blocks were already weakened, she knew, since she had already remembered a few short scenes. But the rush of forgotten memories was sometimes painful. The overload made her feel sick and feverish. It was giving her nightmares. She had woken up last night, pinned beneath Sasuke, as he had tried to wake her up...

Sasuke stared at her for a few speechless moments, until he ran his hand farther up her arm and tugged her down. Eyes wide, Sakura half-landed on top of him, and she paused in front of his face, motionless. His eyes reminded her of fire, even as they were black. "I'm sorry," he whispered, fingers running down the length of her hairline. The calloused pads of his fingertips crept into her hair, and her eyes fluttered closed.

Dazed, she didn't really hear his words until his hand cupped the back of her head, and he pulled her farther down...

* * *

a/n.  
you know, for parts of this i felt really happy writing it. :) i hope "naruto" gets a happy ending. so were you all happy with the ending? was it good?

the final chapter! can you believe it? i feel so relieved and happy. but a little sad too, because i enjoyed writing this. and i've gotten better from writing it. so thank you, fanfiction, and thank you readers. :D i sincerely appreciate everyone who read and reviewed!

PS. i've written another story that's about six chapters long. i'm going to post it (updating weekly or biweekly) and if you're interested, put me on your alerts. (you could always take me off later, anyway.) okay then, bye folks!


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